Don’t be the victim of a jury scam!

Example: You answer the phone.

The caller identifies themselves as an officer of the court. The caller states that you have failed to report for jury duty and a warrant is out for your arrest.

You say you never received a notice. The caller says no problem, it can be cleared up right now, but more information will be needed for “verification purposes” — your birth date, Social Security number, maybe even a credit card number. Or the caller might say that if you give them that info to pay a “small fine,” the warrant will be dropped.

This is when you should hang up the phone. It’s a scam.

As a rule, jury officers never ask for confidential information over the phone; they generally correspond with prospective jurors via mail. There are certain situations (such as a Junior and Senior living at the same address and the summons does not specify which one) in which more information is required. In that situation, the Jury Management Division would ask for the last four digits of the potential juror’s Social Security number to ensure the correct person reports for jury duty.

Protecting yourself against identity theft is the key; never give out personal information when you receive an unsolicited phone call!