The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a Fraud Alert titled, “The Verdict: Hang Up – Don’t Fall for Jury Duty Scam” on the FBI website.
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According to the Fraud Alert, “The scam’s bold simplicity may be what makes it so effective. Facing the unexpected threat of arrest, victims are caught off guard and may be quick to part with some information to defuse the situation.”
The scam starts with a phone call claiming there is a warrant out for your arrest. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and bingo; your identity was just stolen.
The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma , Illinois , and Colorado . This scam is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they are with the court system.
The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.
Source: FBI Website
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