Serving on a jury is one of our most important responsibilities as citizens, but scammers try to use jury duty to steal from the innocent.
In the latest version of this common scam, people have gotten phone calls from a man who claims to be a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Deputy. If you answer one of these calls, you’re told that you’ll be arrested for failing to appear for jury duty unless you pay a fine immediately.
These calls aren’t legitimate and are trying to scare you into paying money you don’t really owe.
In other versions of the jury duty scam crooks use pre-recorded messages instead of live calls, and sometimes they try to scare people into providing personal financial information which the scammers can then use to steal money and commit identity theft.
To avoid jury duty scams, remember:
– Court officers won’t ask for personal information or seek payment for fines or fees over the phone. Most court related correspondence takes place through the mail.
– Never agree to send money to someone who calls you out of the blue. Many scams ask you to wire money or send it via a Green Dot MoneyPak Card.
– Never share personal information, such as your Social Security Number or bank account number, with anyone who contacts you.
If you receive one of these calls, immediately hang up and report it to your local police department and the Attorney General’s Office.