Jury duty scams: Here’s what to look out for as con artists target Sarasota County

SARASOTA, Fla. - Bay Area and state officials are sounding the alarm about a jury duty scam. 

Officials say this is a well-known scam, but the fraud calls are getting worse, and victims are still falling for it. 

Sarasota County Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller Karen E. Rushing warns the community of a statewide surge in impostors calling residents and accusing them of missing jury duty, and it is occurring with increased frequency in Sarasota County.

READ: New jury scam has officials on statewide alert

Recently, a U.S. chief district court judge, along with U.S. Attorney out of Jacksonville issued a similar warning about jury duty scams on a national level. 

Residents are being informed that there is an outstanding citation and/or warrant for their arrest due to missing jury duty. The caller presents themselves as a clerk official, judge or law enforcement officer, and requests that payment be made (often by wire, ‘green dot’ loadable debit cards or other prepaid gift cards) to avoid arrest and incarceration.

File: Jury box

Sarasota County court officials are reminding residents that neither the clerk nor comptroller, nor law enforcement employees initiate phone calls for missed jury duty. Nor will employees of either agency demand payment by phone or request personal financial information. 

READ: Watch out for jury duty scam, Manatee sheriff warns

Most importantly, the clerk’s office says that failure to appear for jury duty is not grounds for immediate arrest, and that any court-related communications would typically be sent through normal mail service.

Important tips to remember:

• Jury summons come in the mail, not by email or phone.
• If no jury summons was received, then ignore phone calls from anyone claiming to be calling about jury duty.
• The Clerk and Comptroller’s office will not contact you by phone for failure to appear for jury duty.
• The Clerk and Comptroller’s office will not phone or email you to request any type of payment for missing jury duty.
• If someone asks you to pay a fee or fine with a gift card, it is likely a scam.
• Ignore calls for immediate action because scammers will often try to get you to act before you think by creating a sense of urgency.
• Be wary of relying on Caller ID, as many phone numbers can be "spoofed" making a phone call look like it’s coming from a legitimate source.
• If a caller threatens you, hang up and call 311 immediately.
• Do not give out financial or other personal information over the phone.