Greg's Corner

Protect Yourself from the Jury Duty Scam

By Greg Collier

As we tend to say, the most common scam featured in the news is the jury duty scam. We find news stories about this scam every day. Just a quick Google search found us jury duty scam warnings from police departments or sheriff’s office in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and New Mexico. If it hasn’t been reported in your area yet, it’s only a matter of time before it does. Even with all the warnings going around, the jury duty scam continues to find victims. So, we thought it’s probably time to remind our readers of this scam.

The jury duty scam is a common scheme in which scammers impersonate officials from a court or law enforcement agency and contact people by phone, email, or text message. They claim that the person has failed to appear for jury duty and that there is a warrant out for their arrest. The scammers then demand payment of a fine or fee to avoid being arrested.

In some cases, the scammers may ask for personal information such as Social Security numbers or financial information, which they can use for identity theft or to steal money from the victim’s accounts.

It is important to note that legitimate court officials or law enforcement agencies will never ask for payment or personal information over the phone or email, and they will not threaten to arrest someone for failing to appear for jury duty. If you receive a suspicious call or message, do not give out any personal information or send any money, and report the incident to the appropriate authorities.

If someone legitimately misses jury duty, they may face penalties or consequences, depending on the jurisdiction and the specific circumstances. In some cases, the court may issue a bench warrant for their arrest, and they may be required to appear before a judge to explain why they failed to appear for jury duty.

However, please keep in mind, that when police do issue an arrest warrant for someone, they do not call them over the phone to warn them.