Residents warned of jury duty scam

Tesa Culli

Oct. 23, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- MT. VERNON -- Court officials are warning residents not to be fooled by a scam involving jury duty.

"I received a report from the Illinois Judges Association that several states have been targeted by this jury scam, and Illinois is one of the states targeted," Judge Terry Gamber said. "I haven't heard of anything in Jefferson County, but we want to alert residents before that happens."

Gamber said the jury duty scam involves residents receiving a phone call from someone who identifies themselves as an officer of the court. They tell the resident that they failed to report for jury duty and a warrant has been issued for their arrest. When the victim protests they did not receive a notification for jury duty, the scammer asks for their Social Security number and their date of birth to verify they are the person on the arrest warrant and assures the victim they will get the warrant quashed. The scammer can then use the information they obtained to steal the victim's identity.

"A person should never give anyone their Social Security number over the phone," Gamber said. "But people get nervous enough when dealing with a legal matter and they can become extremely upset immediately and may not think clearly and then offer the information."

Jefferson County Circuit Clerk John Scott said jury duty questionnaires, warrants and information from the court do not ask for, or include, Social Security information.

"We get a list of names, 5,000 of them, that we order every year from the state," Scott explained on how names are chosen for jury duty calls. "It's a random list of driver's license holders, from voter registration and state ID card holders. ... We send out a questionnaire on an as needed basis when we have a jury call. There are no questions on it asking for Social Security information, banking or income. What it does ask about is their age, phone number, address, and whether they are employed. Those are the questions the attorneys would ask potential jurors."

Scott further said the questionnaire and information sent to potential jurors is on his office letterhead and includes the Circuit Clerk Office phone number, and urges anyone with questions about the jury process to contact his office.

Jefferson County Sheriff Roger Mulch said the jury duty scam follows much the same approach as other scams which have been identified in Jefferson County.

"We haven't had this particular one yet, but if we educate the public, we can prevent it," Mulch said. "Residents need to follow the rules we preach on scams: Do not give out personal information on the phone unless you know who you are speaking with, period. Do not give out personal information on the Internet unless you know who you are dealing with, period."

The jury duty scam has been detected in 11 states, according to information from the Illinois Judges Association, including Illinois, Florida, New York, Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon, California, Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Hampshire.

Mulch said if anyone believes they have been contacted by a scammer or may have been the victim of a scam should contact his office at 244-8004, the Mt. Vernon Police Department at 242-2727, or the Jefferson County Crime Stoppers at 242-8477.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0392-39114599