The Verdict: Hang Up
Don’t Fall for Jury Duty Scam

06/02/06

The phone rings, you pick it up, and the caller identifies himself as an officer of the court. He says you failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant is out for your arrest. You say you never received a notice. To clear it up, the caller says he’ll need some information for "verification purposes"-your birth date, social security number, maybe even a credit card number.

This is when you should hang up the phone. It’s a scam.

Jury scams have been around for years, but have seen a resurgence in recent months. Communities in more than a dozen states have issued public warnings about cold calls from people claiming to be court officials seeking personal information. As a rule, court officers never ask for confidential information over the phone; they generally correspond with prospective jurors via mail.

The scam’s bold simplicity may be what makes it so effective. Facing the unexpected threat of arrest, victims are caught off guard and may be quick to part with some information to defuse the situation.

"They get you scared first," says a special agent in the Minneapolis field office who has heard the complaints. "They get people saying, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m not a criminal. What’s going on?’" That’s when the scammer dangles a solution-a fine, payable by credit card, that will clear up the problem.

With enough information, scammers can assume your identity and empty your bank accounts.

"It seems like a very simple scam," the agent adds. The trick is putting people on the defensive, then reeling them back in with the promise of a clean slate. "It’s kind of ingenious. It’s social engineering."

More Information

Want to learn more about new and common scams like this one? Then sign up for our e-mail alerts.

In recent months, communities in Florida, New York, Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, Oregon, California, Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Hampshire reported scams or posted warnings or press releases on their local websites. In August, the federal court system issued a warning on the scam and urged people to call their local District Court office if they receive suspicious calls. In September, the FBI issued a press release about jury scams and suggested victims also contact their local FBI field office.

In March, USA.gov, the federal government’s information website, posted details about jury scams in their Frequently Asked Questions area. The site reported scores of queries on the subject from website visitors and callers seeking information.

The jury scam is a simple variation of the identity-theft ploys that have proliferated in recent years as personal information and good credit have become thieves’ preferred prey, particularly on the Internet. Scammers might tap your information to make a purchase on your credit card, but could just as easily sell your information to the highest bidder on the Internet’s black market.

Protecting yourself is the key: Never give out personal information when you receive an unsolicited phone call.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2006/june/jury_scam060206

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

Comments(0)

By Comcast Finance

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:42:17 GMT

Editor’s Note: This post by Dawn Fallik originally appeared on January 24 on WalletPop.com.
If you get an email claiming to be from the IRS telling you that you need to submit information for your W-2, it is a scam intended to trick people into sending their personal information to identity thieves.

The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning about this new scam.

Consumers receive an email supposedly from the IRS warning them that they have not submitted their W-2 form and giving them a link to click to input the information.
The IRS will not email you. They will send a letter if they need more information. And W-2 forms are submitted by employers, not taxpayers.

"This is a new identity theft scam that the BBB has not seen before," Janet C. Hart, a spokeswoman for the BBB in Charlotte, N.C., said in a statement "However, it is very timely and relevant information because employers have until Jan. 31, 2011, to get your W-2 form to you. So consumers could easily think it’s real and wind up as victims of identity theft."

There have been several IRS scams before. Sometimes the email comes from the "Treasury Department" stating that a refund or tax inheritance is waiting and the consumer needs to provide personal information. A link or an attachment is often included, sometimes leading to an official-looking form.

Here are some tips to help you recognize a scam:

- If the IRS needs information, they will send a letter. You will NOT be asked to send information through email.

- Do not click on any links in unknown emails. It could infect your computer with viruses and spyware.

- Do not give out personal information, including SSN, home address and birth date to anyone who emails or calls you.

- If the email has a lot of punctuation and spelling errors, that’s a heads up that it’s probably not an official letter.

WalletPop.com is one of the leading consumer finance sites on the Web. Find the latest deals, bargains, consumer protection and personal finance information quickly

Comments(1)