Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A telephone scam attempting to scare people into paying money to avoid being arrested for missing federal jury duty is targeting Utahns, court officials said Thursday.
The caller, identifying himself as a court clerk, tells people a warrant will be issued for their arrest because they failed to appear on a summons for jury duty in federal court in Salt Lake City. The caller demands at least $400 be put on a MoneyPak card and then a call back with serial number by 5 p.m. MoneyPak is a reloadable debit card available at retail stores.
U.S. District Court officials say nobody who reported receiving the calls was actually called for jury duty.
People called to jury duty receive a summons in the mail or by email. If they fail to appear, a court official will contact them to find out why. Fines for not appearing don't come without a court order, and payment is not demanded over the phone, according to the court.
"Our best advice is to hang up and call the agency or business yourself. As we are seeing with the individuals who were solicited as a part of the jury duty scheme, those who called the court were able to quickly discover that the call was fraudulent," said Utah U.S. Attorney David Barlow.
