Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Warns of Civil Citation Scam
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is warning of a fake civil citation scam. It appears to come from the circuit clerk’s office and it can easily fool people into thinking they are being ordered to pay hundreds of dollars,
“When you look at the document itself it has what would purport to be a seal of the court,” says Montgomery County Circuit Clerk Tiffany McCord.
Montgomery officials are warning residents about a scam involving fake court documents that make it seem victims own money to the courts.Officials say they have received at least 20 calls about the scam.
“That’s a lot for a scam in Montgomery County. We’ve not ever seen these numbers. We’ve had numerous people come into the office because they were just that fearful because again, this one looks incredibly real,” says McCord.
The fake citation includes a counterfeit signature of Probate Judge Steven Reed and may include the victim’s personal information.
“It has the person’s date of birth, their name,” says McCord.
Officials say it is not surprising that some people believe it is a real court document.
“They normally try to pick out our seniors, pick out people that are not going to really question stuff like this-that probably feel like there’s a mistake or something happened and those are people that they prey on,” says Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham.
Officials want residents to pay attention.
“We typically do not send out anything requesting money for missing court. There is no reason to go to a grocery store and gift card. That is not something that we do so when you get a notice such as this look at it very carefully,” says McCord.
Sheriff Cunningham says that if the people responsible for the scam are caught, they could face multiple charges.
If you receive a civil citation that looks like it is signed by Judge Reed you are asked to call the circuit clerk’s office at (334) 832-1260.
