I have been warning you about the jury duty scam for thirteen years, but it continues to snare many unwary victims.   Recently Suzzane Wilson lost $18,000 to a jury duty scam that began with a phone call from a scammer posing as a Sheriff’s Deputy telling her that she had missed jury duty and had to pay $13,000 to avoid being arrested.  She was instructed to withdraw the money from her bank and not to tell anyone why she was getting the money.  She was further instructed to to to a cryptocurrency ATM to send the money to the scammer.

Often in these scams you are told that you can pay the fine through gift cards  And now more frequently, as in this case, you are told to pay the “fine” through a cryptocurrency ATM. Other times they ask for your Social Security number to confirm your identity.  Of course, the phone call is a scam.  Even if you have missed jury duty, you will never be called by legitimate court officers and shaken down for a payment.

Often, as in this case,  the scammers will use a technique called “spoofing” to make the call appear on your Caller ID as if it is coming from a legitimate law enforcement agency or court.  In some instances of the scam you are asked to confirm your identity by providing your Social Security number which will then be used to make you a victim of identity theft.  Recently the scam has evolved to where people are also being contacted by text messages or emails from scammers posing as a representative of the local court system.

TIPS

Initial contacts from courts regarding jury duty are always in writing through the mail although some systems will permit you to receive future notices through email.  Under no circumstances will you receive telephone calls or text messages indicating that you have failed to report for jury duty.  No court will demand payment over the phone for failing to appear for jury duty and no court ever requires a payment be made via gift cards or cryptocurrencies.  If you do receive such a call and you think that there is even the possibility that you might have forgotten to report for jury duty, merely call the local clerk of courts in order to  get accurate information. Of course anyone calling you and telling you that you can pay your fine to them over the phone using a gift card is a scammer.

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