St. Joseph- The Buchanan County Sheriff's Office is warning people about a scam trying to dupe people out of their money.

Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett said the scammer calls and pretends to be the sheriff, Buchanan County Circuit Judge Patrick Robb or another area official. 

Authorities believe the scammer is calling people to notify them that they've missed jury duty or there is a warrant out for their arrest. The scammer then asks for money, usually in the form of a prepaid gift card. 

"We've seen variations on this scam before," Puett said. "They threaten that the sheriff is going to send people out to arrest you or the judge is going to throw you in jail, those types of things. It's very scary and very threatening to people, so they try to comply and try to get that done."

Puett said whatever you do-- don't give out personal information over the phone. He said to call and verify that the caller is who they say they are -- and know that neither the sheriff's office or the court will ever ask you to pay over the phone or in the form of a gift card.