St. Landry Parish Phone Scam Targets Elderly

Lt. Clay Higgins of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's office says elderly residents of the parish are being targeted by a phone scam artist using a local phone number. According to Higgins the caller is using a number that appears as a Verizon call from 337-200-1076 so the call appears to be local and legitimate. The scammer tells the victim they have missed an appearance for Grand Jury selection and will be arrested unless they pay a fine. The caller demands credit card information and personal information including a social security number. Lt. Higgins says the Sheriff's Office never calls to demand money from someone and advises anyone who gets such a call to hang up.