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The Iowa County Sheriff's Department has alerted us of a recent scam that has been spreading fast. Please be prepared and forward this to others in your email address book.
Most of us take summonses for jury duty seriously. However, because many people skip out on their civic duty, a new and ominous type of fraud has surfaced. Here is how this fraud works:
- You will receive a call from someone claiming to be a jury coordinator.
- Typically, you would state that you never received a summons for jury duty.
- The caller will then ask for your Social Security number and birth date to verify the information required to cancel the warrant for your arrest.
- Should you give out this personal information, the scammer has successfully stolen your identity.
Be highly prepared, as these scammers use intimidation tactics over the phone to frighten you into releasing your personal information. Likely, the caller will claim to be with the federal court system.
So far, the "jury rigged" fraud has been reported in 11 states, including Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois. Both the FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites to warn consumers about the fraud.
Thank you for your prompt attention. |
