Missouri Attorney General Warns of Jury Duty Scam

According to a recently published Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon web site press release, Attorney General Nixon said that calls have been flooding into his office. The calls were regarding consumers who received jury duty scam phone calls which are a set up for identity theft.

The reports claimed that consumers were receiving phone calls from individuals posing are state and federal court officers in an attempt to steal person identification and information.

Surprisingly, law enforcement agencies all over the United States have been reporting this same scam for the past two years.

Usually, the con artist calls a person's phone number and claims that they work with a federal or state court. They then tell the individual that they failed to show up for jury duty. The scammer then threatens the victim with arrest and asks them for their Social Security number, credit card number, date of birth, or other information. The victim is usually scared of being arrested that they willingly give up their information to the caller.

Nixon said about the scam, "All these 'phishing' scams have one thing in common - they try to scare consumers into giving out their personal information. Missourians need to remember, never give personal information to people who contact you, whether it's by phone or e-mail. Only provide those things when you have initiated the contact."

The way to avoid getting sucked into a scam is by being fully informed. First, federal and state courts do not contact potential or missed jurors by phone calls; they usually do it by mail. Also, courts do not need or ask for Social Security numbers or credit card numbers.

Attorney General Nixon stated that Missouri residents that receive this call should hang up immediately to avoid being sucked into or scared into a scam. After they receive the call, they should directly call their local county courthouse to confirm their jury duty. Additionally, those who are not registered voters should completely ignore the caller as well.

Additionally, those who receive these calls should immediately contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-392-8222 or visit at ago.mo.gov. Those who don't live in Missouri should also be aware of this scam since it is happening in many different states all over the U.S. Anyone who receives this scam call should call their state Attorney General's office and file an official report so that the scammers can be stopped as soon as possible.

Source:

Attorney General Jay Nixon web site. "Consumers receiving "jury duty scam" phone calls again, Nixon warns." ago.mo.gov/newsreleases/2007/Consumer_alert_about_jury_duty_scam/