Buncombe County teacher warns of sheriff’s office warrant scam

Christy Cor was sitting in a café when a caller claiming to be with the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office told her she had a warrant for her arrest. The caller knew her address and employer, used legal language and said there was an internal investigation.

Official jury summonses and failure-to-appear notices are delivered by first-class mail to a home address or post office box, not by phone, and court officials and law enforcement officers never call to threaten arrest over missed jury service. Court staff and the sheriff's office also do not ask for Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, prepaid debit card numbers or other sensitive financial information by phone or email.

Scammers usually follow the same script: a claim about missed jury duty, a fake arrest warrant and a demand for fast payment to avoid arrest. The U.S. Marshals Service for the Western District of North Carolina warns that scammers have sent fake warrants that looked official and could include real judges' names, courthouse addresses and actual law-enforcement names. Fraudulent calls tied to jury duty or witness appearances have also turned up at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

Buncombe County residents have heard similar warnings before from the sheriff's office, which has cautioned about impersonation calls tied to alleged fines, warrants and civil-process debts. Those warnings have stressed that deputies will not call and demand payment over the phone, whether by gift cards, prepaid cards, wire transfers, payment apps or crypto ATMs. The safest response is to hang up, verify through a known courthouse or sheriff's office number and never give out personal or banking information to an unsolicited caller.