Beware of The Jury Duty Scam
 by: Gary Gresham

The jury duty scam is the newest type of identity theft scammers are using to get your personal information. This is a new twist on identity theft, and you should be aware of it so you can avoid becoming a new victim.

With the jury duty scam, the scammer calls you claiming to work for the local court and tells you that you failed to report for jury duty. He then explains that a warrant has been issued for your arrest.

When you explain that you never received the jury duty notification that sets up the perfect question for the identity theft scam. The scammer then asks you for identity verification wanting your social security number.

Once that is provided the scammers go for even more information like birth date and sometimes credit card numbers just because there are some people that will give it out freely.

Scammers tell you that a warrant has been issued for your arrest to catch you off guard. That thought is so powerful you don't think about protecting your confidential information and quickly become a victim of the identity theft scam.

Here are a few ways you can protect yourself from the jury duty scam.

1. Never give out your Social Security number, credit card numbers, bank or any other personal or confidential information on the phone unless you originated the call and are positive you know who you are talking to.

2. People who work for the courts will never call you to ask for social security numbers or credit card numbers. If someone calls wanting this information, hang up.

3. If you fail to appear for jury duty, the court will send a second summons by mail. The courts do not call and threaten to arrest people.

The jury duty scam is the latest in a series of identity theft scams where scammers use the phone to try to get someones social security number and other confidential information.

The scammers will continue to come up with new ways to try and get your personal information. But if you are aware of how it works you might be able to avoid becoming a victim of this jury duty scam.

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About The Author

Gary Gresham

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