We got a call early this afternoon from Eureka resident Kathleen Edmonds who wanted to alert us to a phone scam targeting Humboldt County residents. Edwards said she’d received a call from people claiming to be with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. They told her she had two warrants against her for failure to show up for jury duty.

The scammers told Edwards she needed to pay them $495 to clear one warrant and $475 for the other.

“They said I couldn’t use an ATM card or a credit card; I had to go to Rite-Aid and buy a MoneyPak,” Edwards said. MoneyPaks are essentially prepaid cash cards.

“I’m 66 so they probably think I’m old and stupid,” Edwards added. “I kept asking if I could go down [to the courthouse] and pay it. They hemmed and hawed. They said I couldn’t talk to them or see them.”

The scammers told Edwards the money would go to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Treasury Department. After the initial conversation Edwards called them back on the number they had provided: (707) 639-8020. “They answered, ‘Treasury Department, how may I help you?’” Edwards said.

She contacted the county’s Jury Services department and was told she didn’t need to report for jury duty until January at the soonest. She and her husband later called the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and were told that there have been several similar reports recently, Edwards said.

The Outpost decided to call the phone number for ourselves and, sure enough, after about half a dozen rings a woman answered and said, “Treasury department.” The phone number — which, again, is (707) 639-8020 — is registered through Pinger, a free Internet-based phone service.

The scammers are obviously, by definition, duplicitous scumbags, but they deserve at least a little credit for basing their grift on local news. About two weeks ago the Humboldt Superior Court’s jury staff began calling calling folks who’ve failed to complete jury duty. Court staff may arrange to have a sheriff’s deputy escort you to the courthouse, and they might even assess a fine. But you can be certain that paying the fine won’t require a trip to Rite-Aid.