Jury Duty Scam
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by: Tehila Mörtl
Senior Citizens might think that by a certain age nothing would come as a surprise anymore particularly ways in which con artists endeavor to take advantage of innocent individuals. Such is the reason I, for one, was surprised to read about the jury duty scam. Frankly, I couldn’t even imagine how a would-be scammer could possibly turn a call to jury duty into such a scam but indeed it does actually happen.
Just imagine all the times you have dutifully you have faithfully shown up to serve your time as a juror no matter the personal inconvenience. Then one day, out of the blue, you receive an alarming phone call in which you are advised that a warrant has been issued for your arrest. You respond stating that you have not received a notice within the past month or more and the person on the other end of the line insists that you provider personal information for verification purposes so that the situation can be remedied. We’re not just talking name and address but birth date, driver’s license, social security and other such confidential information. Some are even so bold as to request a credit card with expiration date and security number under the guise of collecting a fine. The point is to frighten you and make you more vulnerable to giving up information which you would normally guard closely.
Frankly, this is not how the court works so hang up the phone and report the incident to your local law enforcement, county courthouse and the FBI immediately. While it is important to fulfill one’s civic duty, if a jury summons is missed you will instead be sent a letter from the court and provided the opportunity to reschedule. As a rule, no legitimate court officer will ask for such information over the phone.
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