John Merchant, CPA, CFE

The Federal Bureau of Investigation warns that criminals are conducting a unique telephone scam by posing as employees of the U.S. court system.  They contact individuals by telephone and inform them that they have been selected for jury duty in a U.S. court.  They then ask the person to verify their name and social security number and later proceed to ask for credit card information.  If skeptical individuals decline to provide information, the caller threatens them with fines for non-compliance.  The entire phone call is, of course, just a scam to elicit personal information from the individual called.  Officials of the U.S. court system do not contact jurors by telephone and do not solicit personal information.  The FBI first warned of this scheme in 2005, but advises that it is ongoing.

For more information, visit http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2006/june/jury_scam060206.