The Southern District of Georgia is warning the public about a telephone scam that claims you have failed to report for jury duty. The caller will claim that you have failed to report and that a bench warrant has been issued for your arrest. The scammer could also send you what looks like a copy of the bench warrant that looks legitimate. This could even include badge numbers, judge signatures, and have the address of the court they are claiming the bench warrant to be from. The scammers may even spoof the phone number to appear that they are from the Court or other government agency.

If someone receives such a call or e-mail, they should not provide any personal information, credit card numbers, prepaid cards, or money. Federal courts do not call prospective jurors and ask for money or personal identifying information over the telephone. If someone summoned for jury duty fails to appear, that person will receive correspondence by U.S. Mail, not by phone or email.

Here are some tips to avoid becoming the victim of this type of phone scam:

• Always be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls.
• Never give money or personal information to someone with whom you don’t have ties and did not initiate contact.
• Trust your instincts: if an unknown caller tries to pressure you, or says things that don’t sound right, hang up.
• If concerns remain about the caller’s claims, verify the information with the appropriate law enforcement agency or court officials.

Anyone receiving a jury duty/failure to appear scam phone call, or any other scam, should report it, with a description of the caller and any available caller ID information, to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov.