Laramie County Sheriff's Office Issues Scam Warning

One of the more common phone scams nationally has been reported in Laramie County recently.

That's according to a post on the Laramie County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.

According to the post, someone has been posing as a sergeant with the sheriff's office and telling people they are in trouble for missing jury duty. The intended victim is threatened with arrest unless they pay a fine.

The Sheriff's Office Offers Tips To Prevent Scams

The sheriff's office post offers the following advice:

Laramie County deputies will never contact you by phone to demand payment for warrants or request any kind of payment.

If you receive a call like this:

• Do not provide any personal or financial information.

• Hang up immediately.

• If you receive suspicious text messages, do not respond.

Report any suspicious calls or texts to dispatch immediately.

Stay alert and help protect our community from fraud.

The phony jury duty scam is one of the oldest and most common scams in the United States. Variations on the same scam across the country have the con artist claiming the intended victim has a different warrant out. But the basic approach is always the same: ''you have a warrant and we are going to arrest you unless you pay up immediately.''

Like another common scam, that of fake IRS agents who call people and demand money for supposed back taxes, it works by using an authority figure who many people find intimidating and a high pressure deadline to force victims into making a decision before thinking or doing research.

Meet the Wyoming Supreme Court Justices

The Supreme Court sets forth definitive statements on Wyoming law which are binding upon all other courts and state agencies unless changed by legislative action.

Gallery Credit: Kolby Fedore, TSM