Marion County Sheriff's Office Warns of Jury Duty Scam

With enough information, these suspects can then assume your identity and empty your bank accounts.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - The Sheriff's Office received information Friday from a Marion County Circuit Court Judge today indicating their office had received numerous calls from people concerned they missed jury duty.

Lt. Shelia Lorance with the Marion County Sheriff's Office, says the callers said they had received a phone call from a male subject indicating he was calling from the Courts and they had missed Jury Duty on February 3rd.

"He then went on to ask for personal and employment information. It should be noted these calls were not made by Marion County staff and as a rule, court officials will not ask for confidential information over the phone; they generally correspond with prospective jurors via mail," Lorance said.

According to the FBI, this phone scam has been around for several years however, they report there seems to be a resurgence in recent months.

As in this case, the callers will often identify themselves as an officer of the Court and indicate you failed to report for jury duty.

They will even say that a warrant has been issued for your arrest and in order to clear it up they need information from you such as your birth date, social security number or employment information.

With enough information they can then assume your identity and empty your bank accounts.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office would like to remind people to protect yourself from this type of scam and never give out personal information over the phone.