The Hall County Sheriff’s Office is warning of a phone scam in which residents are told they can avoid arrest if they can cough up some cash.

The arrest is based, residents are told, on their failure to report for jury duty, according to a sheriff’s office alert issued Monday.

The caller — someone posing as a sheriff’s office supervisor — says the money must be sent through a Green Dot prepaid debit card obtained from a local Rite Aid store for the warrant to be dismissed.

The potential scam victim then is given further instructions on how to “wire” the money, authorities said.

Throughout the call, the caller “provides accurate information on our local judges and personal information (about) the telephoned recipient,” the alert states.

The sheriff’s office has gotten numerous calls over the past few weeks from residents complaining about the phone call.

“Our most recent caller indicated that she was asked to wire $2,696,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Nicole Bailes said.
The sheriff’s office doesn’t have any suspects yet, “as these are recent incidents that were just brought to our attention,” Bailes said.

“Neither the Hall County Sheriff’s Office nor the Hall County Courthouse, in any circumstance, will contact individuals by phone requesting money in lieu of dismissing a warrant,” the alert states.

Residents are advised to contact local law enforcement “if you find yourself receiving a phone call of this nature.”

“Remember, if you are asked to act quickly, or there is an emergency, it may be a scam,” the alert states. “Fraudsters create a sense of urgency to get you to act quickly.”