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Scam calls on jury duty prompt statewide warning

New Duval County Courthouse (Stephanie Brown)
(Stephanie Brown)

Multiple scams are surfacing internationally around court activity right here in Florida.

The Florida Supreme Court has issued a warning around at least four separate scams they’re now calling “widespread”. Some have been reported as far as the United Kingdom.

The first scam, which has surfaced in Northeast Florida, deals with a phone call from someone claiming to be with your Clerk of Courts office. The person on the phone says you have missed jury duty and must pay a fine.

“Anything that comes over the phone is definitely a red flag,” says Duval Clerk of Courts Public Information Officer Charlie Broward.

Broward says while a collection agency could reach out over the phone, the Clerk’s Office does not directly make any calls.

“If anything happens, we would send you something through the mail,” he says.

Broward says that while no case has been reported yet in Duval County, they are beginning to push for awareness in the community that the scam calls could be coming. The St. Johns Clerk of Courts has also had no cases reported to them, but the Nassau County Clerk confirms that one person has reported receiving this phone call so far.

Nassau also says it would communicate via mail, especially for jury duty-related matters, so any phone call should be immediately questioned.  Broward says if you get such a phone call you should report it to police, but you should also call the Clerk’s Office to let them know the scam is surfacing.

The Florida Supreme Court is monitoring several other scams as well.

One is an email scam warning the recipient they engaged in “illegal software use” and must appear in Florida court.  Another email says the recipient either filed a court complaint or is the subject of a court complaint.  The danger that comes with these email scams is the links that are provided with the message, which often contain viruses or other software that tracks your personal information once opened on your computer.

Another phone scam tells the recipient he/she is being sued over an old debt and must pay by the phone.

As a general rule, you should not give any personal or financial information to someone who calls you unsolicited. If you have any question on pending legal issues you should not resolve them with anyone who calls you unsolicited, but rather hang up and call the local Clerk’s Office.

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