A new scam has appeared in which someone attempts to convince people who have missed their jury duty service to pay a fine to an alleged law enforcement official.

A January press release from Florida suggests that this is a nationwide problem. Here is the release:

Local government officials in Florida warn the public of a nationwide scam in which callers pose as U.S. Marshals or other government officials and claim that the victim is about to be arrested for not appearing for jury duty but can avoid arrest by paying a fine. The Middle District of Florida has recently received an increased number of phone calls from victims regarding these scams and deems it of the utmost importance to promote awareness and prevent more people from falling prey to such scams.

The scammers may provide convincing information, including about the victim (e.g., addresses, date of birth, etc.), real names of federal judges or court employees, actual court addresses, court phone numbers, and case and badge numbers. Scammers may even “spoof” the phone number on the caller ID so that the call falsely appears to originate from a court number or the number of another government agency. The caller then tells the victim they can avoid arrest by paying an immediate fine and walks them through purchasing a prepaid debit or gift card or making an electronic payment to satisfy the “fine.”

These phone calls are fraudulent, and citizens should not provide the caller with any personal or financial information. In no instance will a court official, U.S. Marshals Service, or other government employee contact someone and demand payment or personal information by phone or email.

Below are a few facts to remember if contacted by a scammer:

• The court will always send a jury summons by U.S. Mail. A court will never ask for a credit/debit card number, wire transfers, bank routing numbers, or demand payment over the phone for any purpose.
• Report scams to the District Court Clerk’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, or Federal Trade Commission. You can remain anonymous when you report.
• Anyone that receives a jury duty summons should contact the clerk’s office of the court where they were asked to report to confirm all the information.

The situation serves as a reminder that employers pay employees for jury service (the first three days of service) and that employees who are summoned to report for jury service need to be vigilant about the risk of a scammer. Any employers that have an internal newsletter or website may want to consider posting this information, so employees are aware of it.

AIM members with questions about this or other human resources topics may contact the AIM Hotline at 1-800-470-6277.