PHOENIX — Maricopa County residents have been targeted by scammers in recent months in cases involving fake jury fines, authorities announced Monday.
Scammers called residents of Arizona’s most populous county, demanding they pay fines and fees for missing jury service, according to a press release from the newspaper. Maricopa Superior Court jury room.
In most cases, scammers threaten residents with jail time if they do not pay the fine with a prepaid gift card. Officials say the jury room never makes calls requesting payment of any kind.
“The fraud is highly sophisticated and believable,” jury foreman Matthew Martin said in the release. “Scammers pose as law enforcement, sometimes using the identity of an actual police officer or changing the caller ID to make the scam more believable.
How can Maricopa County residents protect themselves from jury fine fraud?
Authorities are asking anyone who receives a call from a scammer and realizes the scam to write down the caller’s phone number and contact police.
No one should provide personal information or agree to payments.
Metro Phoenix residents can check their jury service status by calling 602-506-5879.
“If someone is absent from jury service, the court will issue a Notice of Failure to Appear via U.S. Mail and the prospective juror will be asked to reschedule jury service for a later date,” Martin said.
How big of an impact did the fraud have?
According to the FBI, U.S. residents lost $1.3 billion to scams last year, much of it to scammers posing as government or tech support.
In Arizona, victims lost about $325 million to fraud last year.
