05/28/2024
***********************CURRENT SCAM ALERT************************
Citizens in Alabama are currently being targeted by a "Jury Duty" Scam. In short, the individuals are being contacted and threatened with fines, fees, and jail time by scammers claiming to be with the Federal Court System.
TLDR: If you receive a call from someone claiming you missed a jury summons and demanding money or sensitive personal information, hang up and call the United States District Court for your area.
The current Jury Duty Scam script typically goes as follows:
John gets a phone call from a number he does not recognize. Under the number, a label such as "Federal Courthouse," "U.S. Marshall," etc. is displayed, and John anxiously answers the call. When John answers, he is informed by a "deputy" that John has missed a required jury summons, that John has now been fined by the "judge" for missing jury duty, that there is a strict "gag order" in place requiring John to not speak with anyone about the fines, and if John does speak to anyone, he will be arrested immediately by the "deputies" who are following John.
The caller then instructs John to go to his local bank and withdraw large sums of money (in excess of $1,000.00). The "deputy" instructs John that he cannot hang up the phone while in the bank, and provides a "reconnection" word for John to say once he has completed withdrawing the money at the bank. In short, the caller says he will be muted while John is in the bank so that he cannot hear any banking information, and the "reconnection" word will unmute the "deputy" following the transaction at the bank.
John is then instructed to leave the bank with cash in hand and go to a Coinstar Bitcoin location. In the Tuscaloosa Area, the Coinstars that are most commonly being used are located in WinnDixie. John then goes through several steps and procedures to transfer the cash he withdrew into the machine, convert it to Bitcoin, and then transfer the Bitcoin to the "deputy" to pay the fines.
Alternatively, there have also been several reports that the "deputy" has instructed John to purchase various forms of gift cards and provide the card numbers so that the deputy can transfer the funds from the gift card to pay the fines and fees.
In the event that you receive a phone call, email, text message, or other form of communication stating that you have failed to appear for jury duty, do not provide any sensitive personal information to the caller. DO NOT make any payments to the caller. The federal judiciary will not request personal information or money due to a missed jury duty.
If you have actually missed jury duty, you will be contacted by an individual with the Jury Office from your area who will ask for a basic explanation of why the jury duty was missed (i.e. "I never received anything in the mail," "I was never notified," "I received the notice but I forgot," "I was sick"). You will not be requested to provide SSN, bank information, or any other personal information on the phone. You are not placed under a "gag order" regarding the missed jury duty. You will not be arrested if you hang up or contact your local law enforcement regarding the call.
The information provided in this post does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. The information contained in this post is being provided strictly to raise awareness of the most recent ongoing scams affecting local individuals. Readers of this post are encouraged to contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.
