News

Pennsylvania Judiciary Urges Caution in Dealing with Phony Jury Duty Scam

August 15, 2005

HARRISBURG, August 15, 2005 —Court Administrator of Pennsylvania Zygmont A. Pines is cautioning residents across the Commonwealth to be wary of fake e-mails and phone calls seeking personal information about jury duty. Though there have been no reports of recent incidents in Pennsylvania, residents in other states have experienced threatening phone calls and e-mails seeking confidential information. The way the scam works: callers say they need confidential information for jury duty registration or, in some cases, the callers say they need such data to ensure the person is not evading jury service. “Pennsylvania residents may find themselves the object of unscrupulous callers who may sound legitimate but are not — as has happened in other parts of the country,” Pines said. “While such incidents have not surfaced here, we are taking a proactive approach and alerting citizens of the potential for this type of fraud.” Such scams have been used to get Social Security and credit card numbers, employer information and other personal identifiers that are commonly used in identity theft and fraud, Pines noted. Jury summonses are sent only via mail through the U.S. Postal Service. Occasionally prospective jurors are called back for scheduling. If a prospective juror has a question about a jury service call they are encouraged to call the local district court administrator at the county courthouse.