Beware of Jury Duty Scams
A fairly old scam that's commonly known as the "Jury Duty Scam," has been recirculating around Florida recently. Any caller asking for personal information should automatically be a red flag as potential fraud. Follow these tips to avoid becoming a victim.
How The Scam Works
Victims receive a phone call from someone who identifies themselves as an "officer of the court." The "officer" says that an arrest warrant has been issued for failure to appear for jury duty. According to them, in order to resolve the issue they will need to collect information for "verification purposes.". This information may include your date of birth, Social Security number and even a credit card number to pay a fine.
Other instances include the criminal asking for payment of a fee with a prepaid debit card or a Green Dot Money Pack card.
Many fall victim to this fraud and before they realized what happened and the criminal has time to open new accounts and credit cards and is able to access personal banking and financial information. Consumers have been defrauded out of thousands of dollars- prevention can only happen with YOU.
Avoid Becoming Victim
- Court workers NEVER request payments from jurors over the telephone, nor do they ask for personal information such as SSNs or credit card numbers. If a consumer is unable to fulfill jury duty, they are typically asked to provide an explanation or directed to appear in court.
- NEVER give out personal information when answering an unsolicited phone call.
- If you receive a call from someone requesting payments for "failing to report for jury duty," HANG UP THE PHONE- it's a scam.
- If you receive this type of call you should immediately contact the local law enforcement agency and the clerk's office at the nearest district court to report it.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is the state's clearinghouse for consumer information, protection and complaints. For additional information, contact the department's Consumer Assistance Center at�www.800helpfla.com�r call 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) or 1-800-FL-AYUDA (352-9832) en Español.
