(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — Scammers have been getting creative, using a wide variety of tactics to take advantage of people to get money or sensitive information, often posing as local law enforcement and using fear tactics to pressure their victims into complying. On Saturday, Nov. 23, a FOX21 News viewer shared that a scammer recently contacted his household posing as the El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO), demanding money for missed jury duty or deputies would be sent to arrest them. Luckily, the viewer was able to see through the scheme, but as these types of scams are becoming more common, FOX21 is sharing ways to recognize and avoid them. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Alerts page, these scams usually start with a call or an email claiming to be from law enforcement or a court official saying the victim has missed jury duty, even though they've never received a notice. The scammer will threaten the victim with jail, saying there is a warrant out for their arrest, and the only way to cancel it is to pay a fine. They may give a fake sheriff's badge number, name, or case number to make it seem more real. RELATED STORY: Residents of Douglas County fall victim to Jury Duty scam The FTC says that you can tell if this is a scam by recognizing the following: Courts will never ask for immediate payment over the phone, neither will any government agency. Only scammers will insist that you can only pay with gift cards, a payment app, cryptocurrency, or a wire transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram, because it's very hard to get your money back if you pay in these ways. Courts will never ask for sensitive information such as Social Security number or date of birth over the phone. Hang up or don't respond if you ever receive a call or email like this and never give out personal information or pay. If you worry that a call or email is legitimate, call the court directly at a number you can verify is correct. Anyone who suspects fraud can report it here. FOX21 News reached out to EPSO but has not received a reply at the time of this article.