FYI: Jury Duty Scam

[babylonsister]

Just rec'd this in an e-mail. Seems legit. Beware.



Jury Duty Scam DO NOT DELETE WITHOUT READING!

This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below).
Please pass this on to everyone in your email address book. It is
spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call. Most of us take those
summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their
civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced.

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 (swindle) 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.

Check it out here: http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm



And here: http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp

[yellowcanine]

1. Huh, Jury coordinators never call you. They send you notices in the mail if you haven't responded.

And the notices tell you to call THEM to verify whether you have jury duty that day.

[babylonsister]

2. That's why it's a scam. Many people probably don't realize that. nt

[yellowcanine]

3. Hell people need to get a clue. Never ever give personal info to a cold caller.

I don't even confirm my address to a cold caller. Or how much I owe on my mortgage. And certainly not my SS #.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Thanks

I know better than this, having been summoned for jury duty twice in my life. I think I'd have fun with someone though, and say,
"My Social Security card has only letters, no numbers. The spell YOU IS PWND"

[varkam]

5. Dead giveaway, folks: If there is a warrant out for your arrest, they don't call to inform you of it

When you become aware of it is about the time that they're putting the cuffs on you

[Triana]

6. You are only called for jury duty in our state once every two years...if you look at when ...

...you last served, and if that date is still less than 2 years ago, then you might better consider it a fraudulent call. You can also call your county courthouse and inquire - BEFORE giving any such info over the phone.

In fact NO COURT requests this information or delivers juror summons or warnings about failure to appear for jury duty over the phone. They send summons and warnings by U.S. POSTAL MAIL ONLY. Not via email. Not via phone.

BE SUSPICIOUS OF ANY PERSON OR ENTITY requesting your SS or other personal info over the phone. REFUSE to give it until you check them out.

[supernova]

7. They use written notices now

I got one three years ago. And so did both of my deceased parents. :crazy:

But my dad, once during the 70s, did receive a phone call from our county sheriff, about being on a state jury for a capitol case. This was a true jury call. So, perhaps these folks are targeting older folks who remember when you did get a phone call.

As always, you are free to hang up and call the clerk of the court and confirm.

I never give out personal information to cold callers.

[BeeBee]

8. I had jury duty last week...

and they warned us about this scam before they released us.

[MagickMuffin]

9. People who receive this call: Ask the person for THEIR SS# and DOB to verify their employment

Then they should tell them they will call the court system and find out if So & So works for them. That would make them a little bit uncomfortable and they would probably hang up, or give you phony info, to which you will give verification when YOU call the court system.

No one should EVER give out their personal info over the phone, email, or someone going door to door.

Thanks for posting this babylonsister, I haven't heard about this scam.

:hi:

[intheflow]

10. kick

:kick: