FRAUD ALERT: Jury Duty Scam

There have been recent reports within Middlesex County of residents who received a phone call from someone impersonating the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office in a Jury Duty Scam. The impersonator advised that the residents were issued a subpoena for court and failed to appear.

The impersonator told the residents that there were active arrest warrants for failure to appear and even provided fraudulent warrant numbers. The residents were told they could pay the fines for the arrest warrants to avoid arrest.

Courts and government agencies will NEVER ask for payment over the phone. Courts NEVER ask potential jurors for personal identifying information like your social security number.

Key indicators of the Jury Duty Scam include but are not limited to:

• Initial contact from someone claiming to be law enforcement.

• A false claim that you’ve missed jury duty or a court appearance.

• Threaten you need to stay on the phone and make an immediate payment.

• Demand you provide payment in cash, wire transfer or cryptocurrency.

• Request personal information like your date of birth or social security information to steal your identity.

To protect yourself and others from these scams, consider the following:

• DO NOT provide personal information such as date of birth or social security number.

• DO NOT provide account login information

• DO NOT share account activity – Do not any activity or financial account information.

• Block any phone numbers and report the text as junk/spam.

Please call 9-1-1 or your local police department if you believe you are being victimized. You can also report scams to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) https://www.ic3.gov.