MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas - A Montgomery County man is warning others after he says he came close to paying $15,000 to callers who convinced him he had missed federal jury duty and could be arrested if he did not pay.

Steve McCreight said he has received suspicious calls before and typically recognizes them quickly. This time, he said, the people on the other end appeared prepared.

 This one was pretty good,  McCreight said.  I've gotten some scam calls in the past and typically I've caught on pretty quick that it really wasn't what it was sounding to be, but in this situation they had their game put together. 

McCreight said the callers told him a civil servant had delivered a federal jury summons to his home and that he had failed to appear. McCreight told them he never received a summons and did not remember anyone coming to his home.

The callers then produced documents that appeared to show citations for failing to appear for federal jury duty, McCreight said. The documents also included what was represented as his signature, but McCreight said the signature was not his.

The callers told him he needed to report to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office to resolve the matter. But before he could do that, McCreight said, they told him he had to clear bonds associated with his name or he would be detained when he arrived.

They demanded about $15,000 and directed him to use a kiosk to make the payment, McCreight said.

Adding to the appearance of legitimacy, the phone number displayed on McCreight's caller ID appeared to belong to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

McCreight said he began to question what he was being told and contacted a friend who is a police officer.

 He immediately told me,  Hey, hang up. This is not real. This is a scam,'  McCreight said.

But the callers continued applying pressure, warning McCreight that hanging up would result in an active arrest warrant.

His friend's response was simple:  If they arrest you, I will bail you out. This is a scam. Hang up the phone now. 

McCreight hung up before sending any money.

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