Kansas Consumer Alert: Jury Duty Scam can lead to Identity Theft

Aug. 30, 2007 -- Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison warns Kansans to beware of phone calls about jury duty that ask for your personal information. These calls have been verified by the FBI as an identity theft scam and are spreading across the country.

Residents in 11 states have reported receiving a call from someone claiming to be an officer of the court. The caller tells them that they have a warrant out for their arrest because they failed to appear for jury duty. When the citizen tells the caller they never received a summons for jury duty, the caller asks for their Social Security number, date of birth or credit card to verify the information.

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“This scam is particularly threatening because the caller tries to bully someone over the phone into giving out their personal information,” Morrison said. “If Kansans receive these calls, you should hang up and report the call to our office.”

Scammers may use your personal information to make a purchase over the Internet. Or, they may sell your information online to the highest bidder, leading to serious financial problems.

As a rule, court officers never ask for confidential information over the phone; they generally correspond with prospective jurors via mail. Consumers are encouraged to call the Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-432-2310 if they have received one of these calls.

While no complaints have been filed with the Kansas Attorney General’s Office so far, the scam has been reported recently in Oklahoma, Illinois and Colorado.

For more information, consumers can visit the F.B.I. Web site at: http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm

Source: Kansas Attorney General