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Telephone Fraud Involving Jury Duty

How it works: Individuals identifying themselves as U.S. Court employees have been contacting citizens by telephone and informing them that they have been selected for jury duty. The caller asks to verify names and Social Security numbers and then asks for credit card numbers. If the request is refused, citizens are then threatened with fines and prosecution for failing to comply with jury duty.

Federal courts do not require anyone to provide any sensitive information in a telephone call, such as Social Security numbers or credit card numbers. Most contact between a federal court and a prospective juror will be through the U.S. Mail.

How to protect yourself: If you receive one of these phone calls, do not provide any personal or confidential information to these individuals. This is an attempt to steal or to use your identity by obtaining your name, Social Security number, and potentially to apply for credit or credit cards or other loans in your name.

If you have already been contacted and have already given out your personal information, please monitor your account statements and credit reports, and contact your local FBI office. It is a crime for anyone to falsely represent himself or herself as a federal court official.

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