MN Supreme Court chief justice warns of jury duty scams

The Minnesota Supreme Court’s Chief Justice is warning residents of “jury duty” scams.

Lorie Gildea says counties and district courts are again getting reports that scammers are calling people and pretending to be from state courts. Sometimes they “spoof” the court phone number so the call appears authentic.

The scammers tell people they must pay a fine for missing jury service. They might ask for a credit card number … or suggest another way to pay the fine and avoid jail time.

The scammers may demand that people provide payment or divulge private information that the scammer can use for identity theft purposes.

Gildea says if you are summoned for state jury duty, initial contact will always be made by U.S. Mail in the form of a juror summons from a state district court.

Courts will never contact someone by phone or e-mail and seek payment of fines, Social Security numbers, credit card info, or any other sensitive information in response to missed jury duty.

Any person who receives such a call should contact their local county sheriff’s office.