SCAM ALERT

SCAM ALERT:
 

Milton-Freewater residents, be aware that there is a scam going on in which citizens are receiving a phone call from a person calling him or herself “Officer Cook” from the Milton-Freewater Police Department.  They then tell the victim citizen that he or she was due in court for jury, and that since they did not show up, they must pay $2000 as some sort of penalty.  The citizen apparently is told they need to stay on the phone line with the perpetrator, then go to City Hall to somehow make the payment.

All of this is totally fake, and is nonsense.  Officers will not start phoning people when they fail to show up for jury duty.  Further, people are mailed proper paperwork alerting them to the fact that they are required to report for jury duty on a specific date.  Thursday, January 18 was not a jury trial date, so there would have been no subpoenas or other paperwork sent out regarding that date.

Again, be reminded, there is no Officer Cook at the Milton-Freewater Police Department.  And, the City will not call people asking that they pay some sort of penalty for missing a jury date.  There is no such penalty under the law for missing a jury obligation.  There may be other civil sanctions, but an immediate fine is not possible.  All of these actions are the part of dishonest, unscrupulous scam artists.