SEVERN, Md. — A Severn woman says she knew something was off almost immediately when a man called claiming to be from the Anne Arundel County Sheriff's Office, because he couldn't pronounce the names of places she has called home for nearly 40 years.
Nadine O'Drain picked up the call because it came from an Annapolis number.
"Why I answer those Annapolis calls is because my doctor's office. I don't have her in there in her name," O'Drain said.
This time it wasn't her doctor but a man who claimed she had a court order against her.
"A court order for failure to appear and contempt of court. And I said, for what? He said, Well, you didn't show up for jury duty. And I said, I never received anything about jury duty. I'm a conscientious, lawful citizen so I'm like what you mean?" O'Drain said.
Her grandchildren check the mail, and for a moment she wondered if she had missed a summons. The caller told her the failure to appear carried a $4,500 fine, and the contempt of court charge was another $4,500.
O'Drain kept asking questions, and that's when the caller's story started to fall apart.
"First he said he was from the federal court and he said 'serve-in,' which I knew was a mispronunciation for Severn. And then I said there is no federal court there. And he said, oh, in Anna-nap-polis," O'Drain said. "And I could pay the fine on Church Street. Well, I know there's no Church Street, it's Church Circle."
The caller had her full name, phone number, and address, and presented himself as someone with the authority to arrest her.
"Because he said he was a sheriff that did, it made me nervous. It scared me," O'Drain said.
Even the callback number had a convincing recording.
"It says Anne Arundel County Sheriff, and then it's a menu," O'Drain said.
O'Drain said the caller had an answer for every challenge she raised including when she pointed out that the courts would have been closed on July 3 because the holiday fell on a Saturday that year.
"I felt like he was, he was keeping me on, trying to wear me down," O'Drain said.
She said she eventually told the caller directly what she suspected.
"Then I said, I think this is a scam, and the call ended," O'Drain said.
O'Drain said she has friends who have nearly fallen for similar scams and knows seniors are often targeted. She hopes her story encourages others to slow down and start asking questions.
The Anne Arundel County Sheriff's Office says it receives several calls a day about this scam. If you receive one, hang up and do not share personal information or send money.
Maryland Courts say they will never call demanding payment for missed jury duty.
The Federal Trade Commission also warns consumers never to trust caller ID. If you are unsure whether a call is legitimate, hang up and look up the agency's official number yourself.
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