This is an old scam. Reminder: government offices (financial institutions, and businesses) do not accept gift cards in payments.
This scam could easily also happen in Lamoille County or anywhere for that matter. The Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department is warning of a phone scam where someone is impersonating one of its deputies. “Multiple residents have reported getting calls from Det. Sgt. Brian Welch about missing jury duty. While Sgt. Welch is a deputy in our department, he nor any other representative of the sheriff’s department would reach out via phone,” according to a press release.
According to the reports, the “deputy” told them they could pay for their outstanding warrant over the phone with gift cards.
The department reminds the public to hang up the phone when getting such calls, and not provide any personal information such as date of birth, social security number or credit card information.
The sheriff’s office would never ask for money for any reason and urges people to report these incidents to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office at 800-649-2424 or 802-656-3183. Contact the sheriff at 802-863-4341 with questions.