Texas Border Business
Laura Hinojosa, Hidalgo County District Clerk, warns citizens to remain vigilant of any jury scammers who continue to target citizens with false jury service claims and threatening arrest for a missed jury summons. The callers, impersonating court officials or other law enforcement officers, will typically contact random victims to try to convince them to pay a fine to avoid arrest for failing to appear for jury duty. The scammers will further insist that their victims either pay over the phone with a credit card or bring cash or prepaid credit cards to the courthouse where they arrange to meet them.
“Jury scams continue to exist and have become more elaborate over the years making it more difficult for citizens to quickly identify its fraudulent nature,” said Hinojosa. “We want to ensure the public is aware that the courts or law enforcement will never call anyone to arrange payment of fines over the phone for failure to appear for jury duty, for outstanding warrants, or for any other infraction.”
A court will always send a jury summons by mail and will never demand payment or sensitive information over the telephone. In most cases, a prospective juror who disregards a summons will be contacted by the court clerk’s office and may, in certain circumstances, be ordered to appear before a judge. A fine may be imposed but not until the court appearance, during which an individual has the opportunity to explain a failure to appear.
Anyone who believes they may be a victim of a scam should refrain from providing the requested information or making any payments. Further, victims should report the incident to their local police department or law enforcement office immediately.
