REDLANDS – Several reports of jury duty scams have come across the police desk recently, said city spokesman Carl Baker. Baker said, according to FBI reports, “jury duty scams have been around for years.”
On Monday, Baker released information in which five reports of a telephone scam known as the “jury duty scam” has taken place. Baker said callers inform intended victims that “he or she failed to report for jury duty and a warrant has been issued for their arrest.”
Baker said the caller then asks for personal information to help clear up the problem. That information could include birthdates, social security numbers and, possibly, a credit card number.
Baker has issued warnings to city residents, reminding them “never to provide personal information when you receive an unsolicited phone call.” Scammers can assume identities, potentially removing money from bank accounts or charge thousands of dollars in purchases to credit cards, he said.
Most scams, he said, periodic resurgence in various scams, including a recent IRS scams, arrest warrant scams, lottery scams and others. “As a rule,” said Baker, “court officers never ask for confidential information over the phone and generally correspond with prospective jurors via the mail.”
He said law enforcement and court officers “will never ask you to send money to avoid arrest.” In these recent cases, no arrests have been announced. Baker referred to an FBI-based website – fbi.gov/scams-safety — on which information about common scams is available.
