UTAH, Dec. 22, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah State Courts have received several reports of a telephone phone scam involving jury service, officials said.
“Typically, the scammer will pose as a law enforcement officer and may even use the real name of an officer,” said a post on the Utah courts website. “The caller ID will look like the call is coming from a law enforcement agency, when it is actually not. The scammer will say the caller has failed to report for jury duty and pressure the caller into paying a fine using pre-paid gift cards, or wiring the money to an unknown account.”
What the Utah State Courts won’t do:
- They will likely never call you. Jury service communication is typically done by mail.
- If they do call, they will never ask for a fine payment over the phone.
- They will never have law enforcement contact you about a failure to appear for jury duty.
- The courts will never threaten you over the phone with arrest or jail time.
- They will never ask you to pay fines using pre-paid cards, or wire transfer.
- The courts never ask you to deliver cash or cards to a physical location.
What the courts will do:
- They will send a jury qualification form in the mail for you to fill out.
- They will send you a jury summons card with specific instructions, including the week you need to serve, and a phone number to use to see if you have been called for duty.
- If you fail to appear for jury duty, the courts will mail you a failure to appear notice.
- If you do not respond, the courts may mail you a summons to appear before a judge for an “order to show cause” hearing.
If you believe that you may have fallen victim to a scam, hang up and file a report with your local law enforcement.
