TANGIPAHOA PARISH, La. — The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office says beware of a phone scam targeting Tangipahoa residents claiming they missed jury duty and need to pay money.
The sheriff’s office says it has recently received reports about a jury duty scam resurfacing around the community.
The calling scammers impersonate Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office employees, they even use the names of real employees but fake badge numbers and threaten arrest for failing to appear for jury duty unless thousands of dollars are paid over the phone.
The scammers not only pretend to be sheriff’s office deputies; they’re spoofing the Sheriff’s Office’s phone numbers so it appears to be coming from TPSO.
The sheriff’s office warns this is a scam and that the TPSO is not responsible for sending jury summons nor does it make calls about jury duty service.
The TPSO also does not collect fines of any kind over the phone and will never demand sensitive information over the phone.
If you receive a call from someone claiming to work for the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office and you are unsure if it is legit or not, the best practice is to hang up and call the Sheriff’s Office back at 985-748-3334 or 985-748-3328.
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