Baltimore teacher loses hundreds of dollars in jury duty phone scam
A Baltimore woman said she was nearly scammed out of $1,800 after someone called her, claiming she missed jury duty.
"You hear about these things, not the specific scam, but you hear about similar scams, and you think, 'How could anybody fall for that?' And I didn't think it would happen to me," said Jenny Green.
Green, a Baltimore City Public Schools teacher, said she received a phone call Monday that would cost her $1,800.
"The first thing they said is, 'Are you Jennifer Green?' And I said yes, sir," Green recalled. "They said, 'Well, can you tell us why you didn't show up for your federal jury service?' And I said, 'I don't know what you're talking about."
Green said the person on the line called from a Maryland phone number and claimed to be from the sheriff's office.
She said they had her phone number and home address, and told her there was a signed document and ID on record from her in which she agreed to serve as a juror on a high-profile and top-secret murder case.
But, since she missed it, the caller told Green that she would be required to pay a $35,000 fine or face jail time.
"My options were either to turn myself in or pay the money," Green said.
Green said she sent over $1,800 before the phone disconnected, and she couldn't call back.
She said after a quick online search, she realized it was a scam.
"They had all this information and made me trust them in a way that I didn't even recognize what was happening," Green said.
She said she was able to call her bank and stop the payments to the scammers. However, they still got away with $800 and her peace of mind.
She's now trying to warn others so they don't fall victim to the scam.
"I think of myself as somebody who should know better, and I thought this wouldn't happen to me, and I don't want it to happen to anyone else," Green said.
Green said she has already notified police of the scam and is hoping to file a complaint that can help investigators track down who did this.