JURY DUTY SCAM

Jury Duty Scammers are Guilty

** If you get a call from someone claiming to be from the court or law enforcement saying that you missed jury duty, hang up.

The jury duty scam has remained a successful impostor scheme for a decade. Fraudsters get a quick payoff and may gather enough personal details for future identity theft.

How it works: It starts with a call that may seem authentic – the caller ID may read the call is from the court or a law enforcement agency and may even show the real phone numbers. The caller claims that you face imminent arrest because you didn’t report for jury duty and begins citing names of actual police and judges. The aim is to startle you into making the desired response: “What?! I never received a jury duty summons!”

To avoid arrest, the caller says, you can pay a fine, typically requested in the form of a gift card, prepaid debit card or wired money. To verify he’s called the correct violator, the swindler asks to confirm your identity with personal information, including your name, birth date, Social Security number and other ID theft-worthy details.

What you should know: Authentic jury duty notifications and “no show” summonses are delivered by mail. In rare instances, the court may call prospective jurors, but only after a jury duty summons was mailed but returned as undeliverable.

Court officials won’t call asking for personal information, such as your Social Security number, birth date or driver’s license number.

Legitimate law enforcement officials never call warning of an impending arrest – about missing jury duty or any other infraction.

Caller ID can be manipulated to display the name and phone number of any agency or business, so it’s not a reliable source of information.

What you should do:

Hang up!!

Do not provide any information about yourself.

If you get a call like this and have concerns, look up the courthouse phone number through a reliable source (do not call the number on caller ID or that is provided by the caller) and verify missed jury allegations with the court. If you are unsure, call the senior center, the DA’s office, the police or a friend for guidance.

If you provided any personal information or have been victimized, call the police and contact the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov.

If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other scam, never hesitate to contact Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey’s Senior Programs at 781-830-4920, the local police or your senior center.  You have the power to protect yourself and your loved ones from scams. Please share this alert with friends and family.