Jury Duty Being Used for Identity Theft

Scams designed to commit identity theft are by no means new. Scammers apparently stop at nothing, even duping people into believing they have failed to report to jury duty, to get personal information from individuals.

An email began surfacing the internet in 2005, warning people of a new scam. An individual receives a phone call from an "employee" of the local court system, informing them that since they've failed to report for jury duty, a warrant is being issued. When the individual responds that they never received any jury duty notices in the mail, the scammer asks for personal information including social security number and date of birth. They may even be so bold as to ask for a credit card number.

The email warns that this scam works because the individual is caught off guard by the prospects of going to jail; they mistakenly believe that giving personal info to the scammer will clear up the misunderstanding (prove they really didn't fail to report for jury duty).

Unlike some email forwards, this one is true. People have worked this scam in several states, and some people fell for it. The Minnesota Judicial Branch, the state of New Mexico, the Superior Court of California, and even the FBI issued warnings against this scam.

The truth is court representatives usually do not call you if you actually have failed to report for jury duty. If this has occurred, follow up is usually done through postal mail. In rare circumstances a phone call may be placed to follow up on a questionnaire you completed via mail. If by some chance a legitimate court representative does contact you, they will not ask for personal information like a social security number.

There are several ways to protect you from identity theft. First and foremost do not give sensitive information like your social security number unless you are 100% sure of who you're dealing with. Don't put your SSN on your checks either (checks pass several hands before returning to your bank). Shred old documents with personal information, use anti-spyware software on your computer, and don't use obvious passwords (like your birthday) on the internet.

The most important thing to remember is this jury duty scam is not the only so-called phishing scam out there. If a company or individual is contacting you for a legitimate reason, they won't ask for your social security number or credit card number. If a phone call, letter, or email sounds suspicious, there's probably good reason for it.

Sources:

Snopes

Federal Trade Commission