South Lake Tahoe Police Warn Residents of Jury Duty Scam

Several residents of the South Lake Tahoe community were scammed out of thousands of dollars over the weekend by fraudulent phone callers identifying themselves as law enforcement officers. The callers, who apparently sounded very convincing and knew names of local judges, court clerks and officers, told the unsuspecting citizens that there were warrants for their arrest due to failing to respond to a jury duty summons.

The duped locals were told to buy a "Green Dot" prepaid money card and provide the code numbers to the caller(s). By doing so they would then avoid arrest according to the phone conversation.

Many people called the South Lake Tahoe Police and El Dorado County Sheriff's Departments over the weekend to complain of the scam.

This is one of many hoaxes involving local law enforcement, The City of South Lake Tahoe want to let people know that local agencies do not call people and force them to pay money to avoid arrest. They do not call and demand payment to keep people out of jail or to avoid being arrested.

Do not hesitate to call the South Lake Tahoe Police Department if you ever have questions regarding these types of calls.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department has posted notices at all “Green Dot” retailers in the area advising not to purchase them for the “purpose of avoiding arrest” and to call the South Lake Tahoe Police Department should they be told to do so.