CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) – Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office is warning residents to be careful as scammers target unsuspecting people in a jury duty scam.

Reports have stated that scammers have been calling residents, pretending to be CSO deputies, and accusing the resident of missing jury duty. The scammer will then threaten to arrest the citizen unless they pay a “bond” over the phone.

According to officials, often the scammer will demand the payment be made through gift cards or Green Dot cards to make funds harder to trace.

CSO wants to stress that this is nothing but a scam. Wanted individuals are never warned before an arrest or asked to make a payment instead of an arrest.

With the increase of caller ID spoofing, it is possible for the number to be attributed to the Sherriff’s Office, so residents are advised to hang up immediately and call the CSO directly at (757) 382-6159 if they ever receive this call.