Imagine the scenario… Your ordinary, law-abiding life is shattered by a phone call, informing you that a warrant has been issued for your arrest.
WHY?
Because you failed to appear in court to fulfill the jury service to which you had been summoned.
PROTESTED INNOCENCE
Of course you will protest your innocence, and rightly so, for you are adamant and certain that you were never informed of this jury service.
Getting more and more upset, you think nothing of confirming your identity in order to clear this mess up.
The scammer, for that is what he is, on the other end of the phone, will take advantage of the confused and upset state you are now in.
He can “help” you of course.
By soliciting personal information he can verify your identity and clear this mess up for you.
He’ll take your passport details, your driving licence number, your full name and address.
In other words… everything he needs to successfully steal your identity.
If the scammer, masquerading as a court official, is particularly malicious he may even take further advantage of you by claiming that the arrest warrant can only be revoked by paying a fine there and then.
If he tricks you into doing this then he will not only have stolen your identity but will also have gained your credit card details along with the all important 3 digit security code on the back – everything he needs to start spending right away.
REMEMBER:
* Always be on your guard when asked for personal information, especially over the phone or online
* Courts very rarely, if ever, ring prospective jurors
* Court communication is almost exclusively via the postal service
* Your government abuses loves you, and would never put you in the position where your personal details are at risk.
Related Posts:
Article by Lee
Lee's non-technical background allows him to write about internet security in a clear way that is understandable to both IT professionals and people just like you who need simple answers to your security questions.
Lee has written 2122 awesome articles for us at Security FAQs
View all posts by Lee →
Special Offers
BitDefender security products (Antivirus, Internet Security and Total Security 2012) Lifetime Editions.BitDefender Sphere - protect all your PCs, Macs and Android devices with a one year unlimited license. Currently $20 off the normal price.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I guess so. I still have the good fortune of remembering whether I got a notice or not, and if I appeared on the date. Although I can see where it could catch someone off guard. Thanks for the feedback.
I’m still hoping to be called for jury duty – it’s something I think I would thoroughly enjoy.
Here is the States Jury Duty is a lot of sitting around all day doing nothing while your employer is annoyed with you because you aren’t at work.
In the UK it would be boring if you don’t get selected but employers pay your full wage whilst the Crown meets all the expenses plus a bit on top too.
I’d love to be involved in one of those cases that lasts a year!!
Sounds like an inside job? Where are the scammers suppose to be getting their info from that someone hasn’t shown up in court? Wondering here, for I also have not heard of this one. They (if more than one scammer) couldn’t be just calling people randomly because then I think word or email would spread very quickly on this of offense.
Hey Kim, landline good for when the power goes out too. Cordless doesn’t work, right?
They don’t need to be on the inside as they are contacting people randomly, hoping that they’ll believe they have mislaid the letter, or simply forgotten about it.
That’s a clever one. Something I might actually fall for. Though I do know that they only contact via postal mail.
I wouldn’t be surprised if not everyone knew that though.
True. It also helps to now have a landline and to screen all of your calls
And call barring to get rid of those people who withold their numbers
I won’t even answer blocked numbers. My voicemail used to say that if you’re not going to tell me who you are then I’m not going to talk to you. Of course, that was when my ex was living at his Mothers’ and she has a blocked number.
I keep getting such calls on my mobile phone – experience has told me such calls are always telephone spammers.
Grief from the ex is also a good thing to avoid!
Wow! Haven’t heard of this one yet. Maybe it hasn’t made it across the pond yet to the US.
I’m embarrassed to say, it’s one I might fall for! I’m going to warn those near and dear to me about this.
Thanks!
You’d be surprised then to hear that this scam originated in the States and has just crawled over to the UK!