Consumer Law

Identity Thief tries to Scam Jurors

By M. Stan Herring

Alabama consumers should be aware of this jury duty scam we recently read about on the Houston Consumer Blog. This is a blog that the local ABC News Station has on their website. The blog is maintained by Mike Mcguff, who has done an excellent job of informing Houston consumers of issues they need to be aware of.

Apparently, an identity theft was attempting to obtain individual's personal information by calling them and telling them that they had missed jury duty and were being fined. One person he called reported it this way:

?I received a phone call yesterday from someone claiming to be with the Harris County Jury Assembly Room Staff. They said that I had failed to report to Jury Duty and I would be fined $300 dollars if I did not. Then they told me that I could pay with a credit card and get it taken care of right away. I do not have a credit card, so I told them I had never received a letter/summons and if I was going to be fined, I would rather send in a money order or check. Then I started asking more questions about what I could do to avoid the fine, since I had never received the letter, and they just hung up on me.

First, of all, never give your personal information out over the phone to someone who calls and asks for it. Second, if you receive such a call. Hang up and call the court to report this immediately. If you ever receive a suspicious call from anyone, hand up and call the company back on a number from the phone book or their official website.

Full post as published by Alabama Consumer Blog on February 25, 2008 (boomark / email).