Jury Duty Scam
We have learned that the Nassau County, New Yorkjury clerk is warning citizens reporting for jury duty of a scam being perpetrated to improperly learn personal information, including dates of birth and social security numbers, for apparent use in identity theft. The scam consists of a telephone call wherein the caller tells the person receiving the call that they failed to report for jury duty. The caller states that a summons was sent and that the failure to respond to it may be grounds for the imposition of a penalty. The caller also tries to convince the target that he or she may have thrown out the subpoena without realizing what it was. Of course, the target has no idea about the subpoena because none was ever sent. After arousing sufficient fear in the target, the caller offers to make an arrangement to help. To do so, however, requires divulgance of the target's date of birth and social security number, so says the caller. Once the caller receives the information, he tells the target that he will call back shortly, but, needless to say, never does. It is noteworthy that the jury clerk feels compelled to warn prospective jurors about the scam. The scam is apparently working somewhat well. It seems that no matter how many times people are warned not to divulge any personal information to people who call unsolicited, situations can be created where the target is unable to think straight. One person who will not have to worry about such a scam is New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Last summer, Mayor Bloomberg responded to a summons to report for jury duty. Although he was in the jury pool, he was not selected to sit on a case.
