Circuit clerk warns of parking-ticket scam

Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court Clerk Patti Wibbenmeyer cautions residents to be on the lookout for an email scam.

People have received emails signed by Joseph King of the office of the Common Pleas Court in Cape Girardeau about a past-due parking violation.

The emails state they've been notified three times, and a fine for the violation needs to be paid immediately in the Common Pleas office or by debit or credit card.

"It would be safe to say that if you get email from the court saying to pay by debit or credit card, contact us," Wibbenmeyer said. "We wouldn't contact someone by email."

Wibbenmeyer said the Common Pleas office has received just one call about the scam, but she expects it has been sent out to numerous people.

"I'm sure he didn't just target one person," she said.

Southeast Missouri has been subject to multiple scams in the past month, most by phone.

Last week, there were two: an IRS scam in which Mississippi County recipients were asked to pay a tax debt or legal expense from a class-action lawsuit and a Publisher's Clearinghouse scam in which recipients were asked to pay $85 and provide an account number to receive $2.5 million.

Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter warned of a person who posed as a sheriff's deputy to get money sent by Paypal to pay for a warrant.

Pertinent address:

44 N. Lorimer St., Cape Girardeau, Mo