Citizens beware: Jury duty scams on the rise

Thursday, 18 June 2009

WCBS-TV has details on a new scam that aims to trick people into believing they have missed jury duty so they hand over their personal information.

Contact comes in the form of a phone call or (usually poorly written) e-mail from someone claiming an affiliation with the police, the court or even the FBI. They let their target know they have a warrant out for the person's arrest for missing jury duty. They then ask for the target's personal information - information such as social security numbers, birthdays, addresses and whatever else will help them break into a person's bank accounts.

E-mails may also contain links to viruses or other malware that will covertly collect online banking user names and passwords as well as credit card numbers and other personal information.

The New York personal injury lawyers at the Perecman Firm would like to remind everyone that the police, FBI or the court will never contact you about missed jury duty by e-mail nor ask for personal information over the phone. The court will notify you by mail well in advance of any appointment for jury duty. If you receive a call without first receiving and ignoring a notice, chances are it is a scam.

If you think you have been targeted in a jury duty scam you should submit the details to the government-run Internet Crime Complaint Center. Print and save the e-mail in a safe place but do not follow any links in or make any reply to the message in question. Warn any friends or relatives who you think may be especially susceptible to such scams to beware of false e-mails and phone calls. These steps will minimize the risk that the criminals perpetrating these scams will obtain your sensitive, private information.

[ WCBS-TV]