Cole County officials want to stop a scam before it gets much steam.
In a late Monday afternoon news release, Capt. John Wheeler urged people to ignore telephone calls from someone saying they were calling from the sheriff's office because the person receiving the call had missed jury duty.
Willard Bean said Monday he got that phone call, from a man identifying himself as a sheriff's lieutenant and calling from the 573 area code.
"First of all, (he) said there was a warrant out for my arrest, for not appearing for jury duty," Bean told the News Tribune.
Although he recently had filled out the county's jury duty questionnaire, Bean said he had "not gotten even a notice that I should appear for jury duty."
Bean said his caller claimed "a summons had been issued for me to appear in court on Jan. 15, at 10 o'clock, in Courtroom 9-B."
The Cole County Courthouse doesn't have such a courtroom.
The caller also told Bean that "I should buy two "Green-Dot' money packs at Radio Shack, one for $500 and one for $350."
Bean checked with the sheriff's office.
"They said it was a scam," he reported.
In the news release, Wheeler repeated the scam warning.
People "should not pay this money," Wheeler said. "If in doubt, please call the Cole County Sheriff's's Department," at 634-9160.