HEADS UP!! Already checked on Snopes.com, yes it's
real.
JURY DUTY SCAM Please pass this on to everyone in
your email address book. It is spreading fast so be
prepared should you get this call. Most of us take
those summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough
people skip out o! n their civic duty, that a new
and ominous kind of scam has surfaced. Fall for it
and your identity could be stolen, reports CBS.. In
this con, someone calls pretending to be a court
official who threateningly says a warrant has been
issued for your arrest because you didn't show up
for jury duty. The caller claims to be a jury
coordinator..
If you protest that you never received a summons for
jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social
Security number and date of birth so he or she can
verify the information and cancel the arrest
warrant. Sometimes they even ask for credit card
numbers. Give out any of this information and bingo!
Your ide ntity just got stolen.
The scam has been reported so far in 11 states,
including Oklahoma, Illinois, and Colorado. This
(scam) is particularly insidious because they use
intimidation over the phone to try to bully people
into giving information by pretending they're with
the court system. The FBI and the federal court
system have issued nationwide alerts on their web
sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

I've heard about this, Anna...and the District Court has been trying to get me to serve on jury duty since October last year..they have sent me 3 summons and I have asked to be excused and they have excused me all 3 times, so far...don't get me wrong, I want to serve, but I we have a courthouse that is half the distance from us, but they want me to go downtown and for possibly 2 weeks...all the big trials happen downtown and I'm so afraid of getting put on a jury for something really big...they just finished up a trial that involved a former Govenor and owner of one of our huge hospitals around here...each time they have sent me a summons, I have needed to be at home to take care of Maegan (during the summer, etc) and so they have (so far) excused me...but I have a feeling one time they will not excuse me!!! If they would change my jury duty to the closer courthouse and make it a 1 week committment instead of 2 weeks, I would go ahead and serve...

Becky, we have it different out here in CA. I was able to postpone twice but finally went last month. We only have to go one day now, if we don't get on a jury we are done. Although this time when I went I actually had to go 2 days. I got called up to a courtroom at 2 p.m. and the jury selection wasn't done, I didn't get called up to be questioned, so I had to go back the next day. I really didn't want this case, it was a rape trial, so I was able to get excused. They were really having a hard time getting a jury, I heard later that almost all the women were excused.

You'll probably have to go some time, but strange they won't let you serve in another courtroom. They let you do that out here. If you live closer to a different court you can call and get it changed.

BTW, never give out personal info over the phone, whatever it is. Someone once wanted to confirm my bank and acct number and I wouldn't give it. I said, sorry, no, I can't do that.

Joan

I have always wanted to serve and have received summons several times. Have always had to work by appointment and they always excused me. Now with my medical condition there is no way I can drive downtown Phoenix. I totally understand the distance problem Becky. Last time I had to get my Neurologist to write me an excuse. That is no guarantee that I won't be summoned again. I could not understand how anyone wouldn't know instantly about getting a phone call like that. They do not do that .Maybe if you don't respond to the summons. Out here there are so many elderly people who would not know that you don't get a phone call unless you do get the summons and don't get back with the court and I'm not sure they would contact you by phone anyway.

It's terrible how some of the elderly are taken advantage of anyone for that matter. But most people try to do the right thing and some get so confused.

Hey Joan...I suppose they don't aren't calling me for the closer courthouse because this is District Court and it's only held downtown, instead in Bessemer, which is closer to me. They definitely have my #, tho...I expect that they will keep sending me a summons until I give in and go...after all, this is the 3rd time they have sent me a summons and the 3rd time I have asked to and been excused. The thing is that my circumstances don't change..I still have to be here when Maegan is at home, whether she's in school or it's during the summer. I never know when Bruce may have to go out of town for the day and I can't say that I'd have anyone to keep her for 2 whole weeks while I'm away at jury duty...and heaven forbid I should get sequestered (sp?) !!!

I did serve at our local courthouse several years ago...I actually got picked for a jury on a child molestation case...but as soon as the jury was picked, the defense attorney asked for a break and all of the jury was sent into the jury room..while we were in there, for about 2 hours, the guy plead guilty and after that, the judge sent us home. So, I was picked for a jury, but never got to serve on one...I actually thought the process was interesting and wouldn't mind doing it again...and if they would call me for the Bessemer courthouse, the committment is only for 1 week and I could more easily have Maegan taken care of for that period of time...but the chance that I would get put on a big trial downtown is so much higher than at the smaller Bessemer courthouse...plus, with my health, I have trouble getting up and being downtown at 8:15am every morning...we'll see if I get another summons or maybe they will give up..if I had not been excused this time, I would be serving this week and next week...