According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), there have been recent complaints from people who got calls from false court officials pertaining to jury duty. In the calls, scammers claimed to be court officers who accused people of skipping out on jury duty and threatened to arrest them if they did not immediately pay a fine. There were also many reports that the scammers attempted to seem like “good guys,” offering to review the person's file, persuading them they have a good record and trying to convince them that if they paid the fine with a reloadable card, it would “make things right,” according to FTC. The scammers also berated people for ignoring their mail and claimed they were in possession of an arrest warrant.
Extra persistent scammers even told listeners “Don't you dare hang up until you buy that reloadable card and read me the code!” Greedy scammers told people that the first reloadable card was not able to process and demanded a second payment. The National Center for State Courts will send a letter requesting that you come to court if you miss jury duty and will never call or email the public and request payment for failing to appear for jury duty. If someone asks you to pay a fine for missing jury duty, hang up immediately and call your local court or law enforcement department. After, report the call to the FTC at www.ftcomplaintassistant.gov.