Fraudsters claiming that you’ve missed jury duty and need to pay is a scam that’s been around for awhile, but the Federal Trade Commission is warning of a new twist that could lead to the theft of your personal information.
According to the FTC, the scam goes like this: you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from your local police department, saying you missed jury duty and will be arrested unless you visit a website to pay a fine.
The website looks legitimate, but it asks you to enter your birthdate and Social Security number to “look up how much you owe.” It might ask you to pay up to $10,000 in fines or send you to a “government kiosk” to pay by cryptocurrency. But it’s all a scam, the FTC reported in a recent consumer alert.
The FTC has more tips on what to watch out for: a real officer won’t call to say you’ll be arrested or threaten to arrest if you hang up, and if anyone says you can only pay with cash, gift cards, a payment app, cryptocurrency, or a wire transfer service, it’s probably a scam.
Read more here and if you get a call like this, let the FTC know at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
