Cape Girardeau County sheriff warns of new phone-call scam

The Cape Girardeau County sheriff's office is alerting residents to a phone scam that falsely involved a deputy or a judge.

According to a news release, some residents Thursday afternoon said they received phone calls from what appeared to be a Potosi, Missouri, phone number. The callers stated they were either a deputy sheriff with the county sheriff's office and or were acting under the authority of Judge Gary Kamp.

The callers said the recipients had missed jury duty and were going to be arrested if they did not pay a fine. They were instructed to pay by credit card or to obtain a prepaid credit card from a retail store and to call back with the information.

The sheriff's office said no police agency or court calls by phone to request payment of fines.

Anyone with questions or those who wish to report being scammed should call the sheriff's office at 243-3551 or email contactus@capecountysheriff.org.