{"id":2107,"date":"2026-06-16T10:03:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T10:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107"},"modified":"2026-06-16T10:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T10:03:18","slug":"marana-woman-nearly-loses-7000-in-sheriffs-department-phone-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107","title":{"rendered":"Marana woman nearly loses $7,000 in sheriff\u2019s department phone scam"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Imagine getting a call where the caller ID says it\u2019s your local sheriff\u2019s department. Would you answer?<\/p>\n

Read more Search underway for missing man at Lake Pleasant<\/a><\/p>\n

For most law-abiding citizens, it\u2019s a no-brainer. But a Marana woman\u2019s decision to pick up the phone set off a nightmare.<\/p>\n

Rachel Mullis thought she was doing the right thing. When her phone rang and the caller ID showed the Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department, she answered. What happened next over a span of three hours is something she\u2019ll never forget.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought I\u2019d be scammed. I thought that only happened to older people,\u201d Mullis said.<\/p>\n

The scam unfolds<\/b><\/h3>\n

Mullis answered what looked like a sheriff\u2019s call. A scammer posing as a deputy told her she missed jury duty.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me the judge over the trial I was assigned to was a real stickler for people missing jury duty, and so she pressed charges against me,\u201d Mullis said.<\/p>\n

Mullis was given two choices: pay up or go to jail. The fake deputy kept her on the line, threatening jail, threatening her husband, even threatening her kids if she told anyone.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Ma\u2019am, I don\u2019t want to scare you. But there have been instances where the mom and dad are both in jail. We have no other option; DCS is going to come and take your children too,\u2019\u201d Mullis said.<\/p>\n

Brian Watson with Resources\/Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly<\/b><\/i> says it can happen to anyone. Criminals do their homework \u2014 they know your name, your address, and use pressure to rush you into a bad decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut here\u2019s the key. You have to be willing to hang up. And I know that\u2019s hard because they will actually tell you, if you hang up, you will be arrested immediately,\u201d Watson said.<\/p>\n

The close call<\/b><\/h3>\n

\u201cHe told me that I owed money. Now. Basically these are warrants out for my arrest,\u201d Mullis said.<\/p>\n

Read more Fox to buy streaming pioneer Roku in a $22 billion deal<\/a><\/p>\n

Three hours later, she withdrew money from her bank and went to a grocery store kiosk with $7,000 cash. The fake deputy called it a \u201cbail deposit office\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very reassuring. Very much like, \u2018I know this seems crazy, Rachel, but this happens all the time. It\u2019s very normal. I promise you this is what happens,\u2019\u201d Mullis said.<\/p>\n

As she entered the account number provided, a disclaimer appeared on the screen. And Mullis listened to her gut.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there\u2019s a big warning that comes on and says \u2018law enforcement will never ask you to deposit money into a Coinstar machine.\u2019 And I\u2019m so thankful that it\u2019s there because it was the final straw,\u201d Mullis said.<\/p>\n

Mullis hung up, drove home, and reported it.<\/p>\n

Official warning<\/b><\/h3>\n

Experts say the warning is simple: If anyone calls demanding money to avoid arrest, hang up. Law enforcement will never ask you to pay a fine over the phone. Ever.<\/p>\n

In a statement to 13 News, Judge Danelle Liwski, presiding judge of Pima County Superior Court<\/b><\/u><\/i>, said, \u201cJurors are the most important part of our judicial system. They ensure a fair trial for individuals involved in criminal and civil cases. Jury duty is an important civic responsibility, and judges can require a person to appear if summoned for jury duty, but a judge would never request a law enforcement officer to call anyone for missing jury duty. <\/p>\n

If an individual failed to appear for jury duty, the judge might issue an order for the person to physically appear in court. The order would be for the person to appear and never for a monetary amount. The court has never used \u2018bail deposit offices\u2019 or cash machines for any fee collection.”<\/p>\n

If you have questions, call the Pima County Jury Office<\/b><\/u><\/i> at 520-724-4222.<\/p>\n

The fraud warning Mullis saw is thanks to a new Arizona law targeting these scams<\/b><\/u><\/i>, putting limits on machines that support cryptocurrency like the one used in this story. <\/p>\n

Three other states have gone even further, banning the machines altogether.<\/p>\n

Are you streaming 13 News?<\/p>\n

Watch a free live stream of Tucson Now and 13 News at TucsonNow.Live.<\/p>\n

Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app, which you can find on Apple and Google.<\/p>\n

If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.<\/p>\n

Read more Make-A-Wish Arizona grants soccer fan\u2019s wish to see World Cup match<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Marana woman nearly lost $7,000 to a fake sheriff’s deputy in three-hour fraud attempt. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nMarana woman nearly loses $7,000 in sheriff\u2019s department phone scam - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marana woman nearly loses $7,000 in sheriff\u2019s department phone scam - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Marana woman nearly lost $7,000 to a fake sheriff's deputy in three-hour fraud attempt.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-16T10:03:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Marana woman nearly loses $7,000 in sheriff\u2019s department phone scam\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T10:03:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107\"},\"wordCount\":772,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/59d6b0fd4cca3ae651d72f16a1bc4621.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107\",\"name\":\"Marana woman nearly loses $7,000 in sheriff\u2019s department phone scam - Tucson Moving Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/59d6b0fd4cca3ae651d72f16a1bc4621.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T10:03:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/59d6b0fd4cca3ae651d72f16a1bc4621.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/59d6b0fd4cca3ae651d72f16a1bc4621.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2107#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Marana woman nearly loses $7,000 in sheriff\u2019s department phone scam\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tucson Moving Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Marana woman nearly loses $7,000 in sheriff\u2019s department phone scam - Tucson Moving Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Marana woman nearly loses $7,000 in sheriff\u2019s department phone scam - Tucson Moving Report","og_description":"A Marana woman nearly lost $7,000 to a fake sheriff's deputy in three-hour fraud attempt.","og_url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107","og_site_name":"Tucson Moving Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-16T10:03:18+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"headline":"Marana woman nearly loses $7,000 in sheriff\u2019s department phone scam","datePublished":"2026-06-16T10:03:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107"},"wordCount":772,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/59d6b0fd4cca3ae651d72f16a1bc4621.avif","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107","name":"Marana woman nearly loses $7,000 in sheriff\u2019s department phone scam - Tucson Moving Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/59d6b0fd4cca3ae651d72f16a1bc4621.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-16T10:03:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/59d6b0fd4cca3ae651d72f16a1bc4621.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/59d6b0fd4cca3ae651d72f16a1bc4621.avif","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2107#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Marana woman nearly loses $7,000 in sheriff\u2019s department phone scam"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/","name":"Tucson Moving Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}