The San Bernardino County Superior Court has received complaints that con artists are pretending to be court officials or sheriff’s personnel and may be contacting past and prospective jurors and asking for personal or financial information. Reporter Eric Knabe offers these tips to help you avoid being a victim of this scam…
The jury scam typically starts with phone call from someone who says you missed jury duty and there is now a warrant out for your arrest. The caller will say you can avoid the arrest by paying a fine, typically by using a prepaid debit or gift card. Or the caller may request personal information—your birth date, social security number, maybe even a credit card number—for verification purposes. This is when you should hang up. It’s a scam. As a rule, court officers never ask for confidential information over the phone and notifications with prospective jurors are done through the mail. Protect yourself by never giving out personal information when you receive an unsolicited phone call or email.
