On December 18, 2024, staff at the Klamath County Circuit Court received several phone calls from area residents saying they had been contacted by “someone at the court” who indicated they owed fines or fees to the court and urged the callers to pay them over the phone. Court officials say these are scams.
“Watch out for scam phone calls, texts, or emails that claim you owe money or face arrest because you missed jury service or a court appearance or have unpaid fines,” said John Powell, the trial court administrator for the Klamath County Circuit Court. “Sometimes the scammers can ‘spoof’ or imitate the phone numbers or email addresses of courts or law enforcement, so be wary.”
Powell said the court and law enforcement will never demand money, ask you to meet an officer or court employee outside of the courthouse, or require you to give sensitive personal information by phone or email.
If you get this kind of contact, ignore it or hang up. Do not reply directly to texts or emails, click on any links, or open any attachments.
“The Circuit Court will never contact anyone about collecting fines and fees unless there has been some written communication with a party prior,” said Powell. “No staff are actively engaging in any collections activity over the phone.”
If in doubt, look up court or law enforcement contact information online and contact them directly. If the caller claims to be from the Klamath County Circuit Court, end the call and call the court directly at 541-883-5503. Ask to speak to any clerk to confirm that you don’t owe anything. You may also want to report the scam to local law enforcement.
“Unfortunately, it appears that at least one community member did pay the person over the phone,” said Powell. “She contacted the court afterward and verified that she did not have any fines due at the courthouse. She did indicate the phone call appeared to have the court number on caller ID. None of the area residents who contacted us owed any fines or fees to the court.”