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Jury Duty Scam - Don't Fall For This Call

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posted on Feb, 7 2010 @ 10:50 AM
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Jury Duty Scam




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.


This scam has been around for awhile. However, I only just got the email this morning. So I decided to visit the FBI's page and verify it. Shockingly, this is true.

The FBI released the info in 2006. So like I said, it is old information. But I figured since no one else had written anything about this, it may be helpful information for many people. Hence, I'm posting this thread in hopes of alerting any unsuspecting people.

I was on Jury Duty once before. And to be honest, perhaps I'm naive about these things, but I totally would have fell for this scam. I don't like the idea of jail. So read up on this, and pass the word along.




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.


(to the mods... I was very uncertain of where this thread should be posted. Feel free to move it if it is placed in the wrong area.)



posted on Feb, 7 2010 @ 11:15 AM
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Thanks for the heads up, EagleTalonZ. I don't even give information to the checkout clerks at Lowe's who want to know my zip code or phone number. They don't need that information to sell me a hammer.

Prize winners are another one. I've gotten lots of those kinds of calls. "You have won a prize! Now we just need to ship it to you." Then they ask you to verify your address and social security number (for tax purposes, of course). I always tell them to send me the appropriate tax form, I'll fill it out and mail it to the IRS. You know, I've never gotten any of my "prizes". LOL.



posted on Feb, 7 2010 @ 02:09 PM
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reply to post by whitewave
 


I wish I could say I had always been as smart as you. I considered myself to be pretty street smart. But after reading your post, I feel rather naive.


I know about the "I'm an old dying widow who wants to leave you my riches... what's your social again?" scam. lol However, I never would have imagined a Jury Duty scam. Now I'm gonna have to be a cynic to survive. What's worse... is I'm YEARS behind the game on this.


Well, I'm putting my foot down on stupidity today. No more "George Bushing" myself. And hopefully a few people will read this thread and will remain safe as well. Truth be told, identity thieves have probably thought of getting me before, but only until they realized that would be a major step down.



posted on Feb, 7 2010 @ 05:56 PM
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Not so much smart, ETZ, just been burned before. Now no matter what story they give me when I hear the words "social security or credit card number" my alarm bells go off.

Appreciate you keeping us safe and aware.




 
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