A woman who says she fell prey to a costly jury duty scam is now issuing a PSA to others to protect themselves before it happens to them.
In a viral video that has amassed over 994,000 views as of Friday, TikToker Marley McCan (@th4ylov4m4r) shared what the scam entailed and how she fell for it.
In the clip, McCan said she received a random call while at work one night. The caller asked to speak to her boss and said that they were calling from the local Sheriff’s Department, the TikToker continued. She said when she explained her boss was not available, the caller asked her for her first and last name and then declared he was actually calling about her.
“He proceeds to tell me that they were actually calling about me,” she said. “And that I had missed my jury duty.”
The caller also reportedly claimed that the TikToker now had two misdemeanors on her background that totaled hundreds of dollars and would have to be paid off.
“They were each $375,” McCan continued.
The TikToker said the caller even went so far as to claim there was now a warrant out for her arrest because she did not show up in court for jury duty.
McCan’s first instinct was to ask more questions to confirm the identity of the caller, she said. She reportedly asked which police station he was at and received information about a real police station.
@th4ylov4m4r A serious post because this $hit is not cool!!! Love you have a good day protect your peace <33 #scam #scamcaller #fraud #fakepolice #fakepolicecalls #fakejuryduty ♬ original sound – Mar💌
“They had everything to a tee because this is what sick motherf*ckers like this do for life,” she said.
Petrified, McCan said she fell for the scam and stayed on the phone with the caller for three hours. In that time, she continued to question whether the call was a scam, but she said the scammers had all of the right answers to everything she asked. They pushed her to make a payment for the tickets via phone or run the risk of being arrested “on the spot” if she went down to the local precinct, she said.
“These people have a script printed out in front of them. Like, no joke,” McCan continued.
The comments section was flooded with viewers disturbed by McCan’s experience with the sophisticated scammer.
“The way that this is so freaking scary,” a viewer said.
“I just stopped answering the phone to anyone unless I have them in my contacts,” a second wrote.
“Always remember that you won’t get emails or phone calls about these things! Mail only!! I’m sorry this happened to you!” another added.
The U.S. District Court and U.S. Attorney’s Office issued a warning about jury duty scams, which appear to be on the rise. It warned against providing critical data to anyone claiming to represent government officials or police by phone or email.
“We’ve seen a resurgence of jury scams in recent months where a caller demands that someone pay a fee or face arrest for missing jury duty. Let me be clear: these calls are fraudulent,” warned Florida’s Chief Judge Timothy J. Corrigan. “If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be a judge or other court official, do not give them your credit card or other financial information.”
The warning also noted, “The court will always send a jury summons by U.S. Mail. A court will never ask for a credit/debit card number, wire transfers, bank routing numbers, or demand payment over the phone for any purpose.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Marley McCan via TikTok comment for comment and an update.
