Phone ruse seeks personal information for fraud, ID theft
Local and state court officials are reporting the resurgence in
a telephone scam designed to dupe people into divulging personal
information by claiming they’ve failed to report for jury duty.
The scammer, posing as a court official, claims that the person
being called missed jury duty and may be arrested if they don’t
provide information such as their Social Security Number or
financial information. People who provide personal information
could fall prey to a scam in which the caller tries to steal their
identity to apply for credit cards or loans.
”
I’ve been contacted by a couple members of the community who are
worried about the jury scam,
”
said Gil Solorio, executive officer of San Benito County
courts.
Phone ruse seeks personal information for fraud, ID theft
Local and state court officials are reporting the resurgence in a telephone scam designed to dupe people into divulging personal information by claiming they’ve failed to report for jury duty.
The scammer, posing as a court official, claims that the person being called missed jury duty and may be arrested if they don’t provide information such as their Social Security Number or financial information. People who provide personal information could fall prey to a scam in which the caller tries to steal their identity to apply for credit cards or loans.
“I’ve been contacted by a couple members of the community who are worried about the jury scam,” said Gil Solorio, executive officer of San Benito County courts.
He noted that there have been no reports of locals being victimized by the scam, but the fact that people are asking about it prompted him to publicize the warning.
The state’s Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) last year reported that California, along with more than a dozen other states, issued public warnings about the bogus telephone calls – a scam that dates back at least five years.
Judicial officials “will never ask the public – whether past or prospective jurors – for financial details, credit card numbers, bank account numbers or other personal information such as Social Security number and date of birth,” the office of the courts said in a press release. “Do not provide this type of information to anyone claiming to be associated with the courts,” the release warned.
Official court personnel may contact prospective jurors by phone but they will not request personal information like the scammers do. The AOC recommends that anyone receiving a call, e-mail or other form of communication from someone claiming to be a court official requesting personal or financial information should contact the fraud unit of their local police department.
“Number one, we don’t call individuals who have not appeared for jury duty,” Solorio said. “Our communication with those individuals is via mail.”
Prospective jurors could receive a phone call in the event that a case was postponed, he noted, “however, we don’t ask for a Social Security number or other information.”
Jurors are asked to show a copy of their driver license when they appear for service at the courthouse, noted Debbie Jurevich, San Benito County’s deputy jury commissioner.
If Jurevich returns a phone call from someone asking about jury duty, she will ask for a date of birth or a street address to verify that the person has been summoned, but she will not ask for a Social Security number or driver license number over the phone.
“If someone is not sure (about the validity of the call regarding jury service) and they’d rather not divulge information, they can call us back to verify who is calling,” Jurevich said.
For more information, contact Debbie Jurevich at 637-4057, ext. 45.
