Identity Theft: Jury Duty Scam

If you are like me, you are tired of the internet hoax emails claiming such rubbish as "in 1987 Oliver North testified before Congress that Osama bin Laden was the most evil person alive”,  or that "cut flowers can remove oxygen from the air". But every once in a while you get a spam email that is legit, and I got one today relative to a scam involving jury duty.

The scam goes something like this: You receive a call from someone claiming to be a jury commissioner who says you were told to report for jury duty, that you did not appear, and that an arrest warrant has been issued for you. When you complain that you did not receive any notice, the caller makes an effort to appear helpful and asks you to confirm your Social Security Number and birth date to verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Once you provide this information, your identity has been stolen.

According to Snopes.com, this scam is not new, but it is real. The scammers sometimes use bullying tactics to get people to divulge information. It is something that is definitely worth passing on to friends and family.

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

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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