Consumer Encyclopedia

Jury duty scam

Jury duty scam

This identity theft scam is the telephone equivalent of phishing. A consumer gets a call from someone who claims to be from the local county courthouse and says the consumer failed to show up for jury duty. The rattled consumer explains there must be a mistake. The caller says no problem, this is easy to clear up, and asks for some information, including Social Security number.

Tip: Never give out your personal information to anyone who contacts you. Give that out only when you initiate the contact. For more, see identity theft.

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