Letter to the Editor: Details of Personal Experience With Los Alamos Phone Scammer

Public Service Alert 
Los Alamos Resident
 
I got a call yesterday afternoon from a Lt. Carl Lewis stating that I (he gave me my address as well) had failed to report for jury duty, and that I had fines of ~$423 for failure to appear, ~$415 for contempt of court, and a $177 court processing fee (roughly $1,000 dollars). 
 
He was actually very convincing and talked with a thick southern drawl, and when I mentioned I never got informed of jury duty he had quick authoritative responses, mentioned how he wasn’t there to dispute the charges, just inform me of my rights and that this call was being recorded, etc. Then it gets to the payment, where I can go down to my local Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc and buy a “Green Dot Money Pack,” scratch off the number on the back, call him back at 505.218.0978 and tell him the number. Then when I appear at court the judge will hear my side and may decide to return the money, etc.
 
Apparently Green Dot Money Pack is the choice of scammers these days, so anything involving that over the phone is certainly suspect. I did call the police dispatcher, and they just said “it’s a scam, don’t worry about it.”
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