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I was on the SCAM Shortlist—How I Put the Kibosh on their $9,000 Con—You Can, Too
The Scam: “I’m calling from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office…” were the first words I heard when I answered the persistent call from a Restricted phone number. I don’t answer calls from unknown callers. But they kept calling. I answered, concerned that one of my peeps needed me.
I can’t give you the conversation verbatim. The following dialogue is the closest to what I remember.
“This is Officer ____. I’m calling to tell you how to prevent a warrant being issued for your arrest.”
“Arrest?” My stomach clenched. “What have I done that I didn’t know I did?” my mind racing to retrace my past.
“You’re being held in Contempt of Court for not appearing for Jury Duty today and for ????.” (The second offense he named didn’t register)
I hadn’t had a Jury Duty call in a few years. Definitely not recently. “Jury Duty? Why didn’t I know I had Jury Duty? I’ve not received any notification.”
“You received notification on May 5th to appear today (May 12th).”
Me: “I did? How come I don’t know that? I don’t understand.”
“You can prevent arrest by appearing here for a signature verification on the DNR (Did not receive) and DNS (?)”
Me: “Where’s here?”
The session went on for about an hour… me asking questions; he and his Captain Kristopher Nabor, 30115, skirting my questions and telling me I will be arrested when I try to enter the Sheriff’s department unless I first obtain a Binary Trust Certificate and pay the fines.
He gave me two addresses where I could pay the fines and get the certificate. He assured me I would be reimbursed for the fines when I prove I did not know I was to appear (through the signature verification at the Sheriff’s office).
Are you sitting down to see the cost of this scam? The fine for each offense was $4,500! $9,000 total!
When I gasped and said that’s not happening, he said he’d work with me. How much can I pay?
I said, 5-bucks. I can survive without $5.
He was not pleased and mentioned I’d be spending 30-45 days in jail for Contempt of Court if I don’t handle this now. And on he babbled.
I asked for his phone number so I could talk to someone and call him back. He reminded me again of my imminent arrest. No phone number came.
That’s when I told him to do what he has to do and ended the call. My next call was to the Pinal County Sheriff’s office. She said it was a scam and I absolutely did the right thing. No one would be coming for me with an arrest warrant.
The first clue that this was a scam was when the officer mispronounced the name of the county he was calling from. His supervisor mispronounced the name of the street that the Sheriff’s office was on in the tiny town of Stanfield. Both places are very well known.
When neither would answer my specific questions, I really knew it was hokey. I looked up the addresses they gave me to pay the fines and get a *Binary Trust Certificate at. Both were to a Circle K. One advertises a Bitcoin machine available. I can’t imagine that Circle K is involved in this in the slightest.
(*According to Bing: A binary trust certificate typically refers to digital certificates encoded in a binary format, such as DER (Distinguished Encoding Rules). These certificates are used in various security protocols to establish trust between parties.)
I found no Captain Kristopher Nabor (he spelled it for me) within the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department.
Don’t Get Scammed!
First, listen. Then ask questions. Or just hang up!
One sentence to remember
If it’s urgent, scary, or demands payment, it’s a scam.
Because I’m also keenly aware of voice cloning, I told my peeps, “If you get a call that I’ve been kidnapped or am in deep doo-doo using mt own voice, don’t believe it without first checking. It’s probably a scam.
Listen, ask questions, get a number to call them back.”
If it’s urgent, scary, or demands payment, it’s a scam.
Click on the link for a poster size printable Infographic to download and share with all your peeps: Infographic to Print
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Alexie Linn, the Author, and Homespun Rebel 
