Scam Alert: Jury Duty

While you should remain vigilant of all potential identity theft threats, some are especially alarming. The “Jury Duty” scam is remarkably easy to fall for. Learn how it works so that you can stay safe if you receive this ominous call.

Imagine this scenario: you receive a call from a jury coordinator informing you that a warrant has been issued for your arrest due to your failure to appear for jury duty. When you explain that you never even received a summons for jury duty, the coordinator asks for your Social Security number and date of birth in order to verify your information and cancel the warrant. Of course you're willing to provide this information; there's obviously been a mistake and you want to avoid arrest at all costs. Problem is, this is all part of the scam. There never was a warrant, and you've just had your identity stolen.

This scam has been reported in 11 states so far and is growing. So if you receive a phone call that seems suspicious or threatening, don't panic. Simply ask for more information, the caller's supervisor, or a number at which you can reach them after doing more research. Nothing foils an identity thief like an educated response.

Source: Equifax

Scam alert: Jury Duty Call

Subscriber Helen Rogers kindly sent this alert. This scam started in 2005, but not all of us are aware of it.

This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below). It is spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call. Most of us take those summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced.


The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and bingo; your identity was just stolen.

The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma, Illinois, and Colorado. This [swindle] is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they are with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

Check it out here: http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm

And here: http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp

Thanks, Helen!