Identity theft continues to be a growing problem around the country with new scams being reported regularly. Occasionally, scammers will purport to be from a local or federal court or police agency and will call, text, or email people with threats of arrest or other sanctions for missing jury service unless they provide personal information such as bank account or credit card number, Social Security number, birth date, etc.
The court will never require you to give your personal information over the phone or by email.
If you receive one of these calls, do not give them any of your personal information! If you can, get the caller's name and number and then hang up. Please report the call to your local circuit court jury coordinator immediately.
If you receive an email or text message, do not click on any links or open any attachments. Contact your local law enforcement to report it.
If you have received one of these calls or emails and have given out personal information, monitor your account statements and credit reports carefully. If any unauthorized charges are made, report the theft to local law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-438-4338 or https://consumer.gov/section/scams-identity-theft. And contact a credit bureau to request that it place a fraud alert on your credit history.
How Courts Contact Jurors
Our courts do not call jurors who have missed jury duty and ask for personal information, such as bank account information, credit card numbers, or social security numbers. Rarely does the court need a juror's Social Security number. When the court does need that information for reporting certain payments for jury service, the court will never ask you to provide it over the telephone.
Our courts do not issue subpoenas by email.
Additional Sources for Scam Alert Information
https://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer/Pages/scam_alert_archive.aspx
https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts
https://www.usa.gov/scams-and-frauds