The National Center for State Courts, an independent research organization, has estimated that around 15% of U.S. adults receive a jury summons each year.
What does that mean for you? If you are over the age of 18, are a registered voter or you own a state issued driver’s license, you could be sitting on the next petit or grand jury.
In November 2022, a local woman received a call from someone claiming to be a deputy at the sheriff’s office. The caller listed off an official-sounding badge number and claimed that there was a warrant out for her arrest. He claimed he was on his way to her home to arrest her after failing to respond to a jury duty summons.
The caller then stated that there was a $2000 fine that she could pay immediately if she didn’t want to be arrested. Now in a panic, the woman purchased prepaid debit cards to satisfy the fine. After reading the numbers off the back of the cards the caller claimed that he needed another $500 to clear the warrant off her record.
The woman realized what she had done and instantly hung up the phone to report the fraud to the real sheriff’s office.
This type of scam is known as the jury duty scam. Scammers impersonate local police or sheriff’s departments as well as the district attorney’s office or the county courts. The scammer states that there is a current warrant out for your arrest as a result of failing to reply to a jury summons. They claim that the only way to avoid being arrested is by paying a hefty fine. In some cases, they may even request your Social Security number, credit card number, and other personal information to steal your identity.
This scam preys on a person’s general apprehension of law enforcement and inexperience of how the jury duty summons process works. To help you see through these tricks, here are some red flags to spot the scam:
• Initial contact regarding jury duty is always in written form through postal mail and never by phone call, email or text.
• Legitimate court officials and local police departments will never call you to demand or solicit payments over the phone. Calls may appear to be legitimate, using a local number and Caller ID showing the police department’s information and an official-sounding voice on the phone. Hang up and contact court officials directly.
• Anytime you are asked to make a payment by gift card, prepaid debit card, wire transfer or cryptocurrency, it’s a scam. These types of payments are almost always impossible to trace and reverse.
• No court official will ever demand Social Security numbers or other personal identity or banking information over the phone.
• Be cautious when immediate action has to be taken. Scammers often use the sense of urgency get you to do something without thinking it through. If you actually have missed jury duty, no fine will be placed until you have a chance to appear in court to explain your failure to appear.
• Contact federal, state or local courts directly to see if you have an actual jury duty problem. Search for contact information and only call numbers you find on official court websites.
If you feel like you may have been a victim of the jury duty scam, call the BBB at 419-223-7010. You can also report scams using the BBB Scam Tracker at https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker or the Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.
Reghan Winkler is executive director of the Better Business Bureau serving West Central Ohio. The BBB may be found on the Internet at bbb.org/us/oh/lima.
