CHARLOTTE — Mecklenburg County officials are warning residents about a jury service scam involving fraudulent calls, texts, and emails threatening fines or arrest for missing jury duty.
The Trial Court Administrator’s Office at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse has reported receiving multiple daily complaints from residents about these suspicious communications.
“We want our residents to be aware so if they get one of these suspicious and threatening calls, they know it’s a scam,” said Sonya L. Harper, director of Mecklenburg County Criminal Justice Services.
In North Carolina, official jury summonses and failure to appear notices are always delivered by first class mail to a resident’s home or post office box.
Court officials and law enforcement officers never make phone calls to threaten arrest or warn a resident of an impending arrest for failing to appear for jury service or any other infraction.
The false calls often occur at night when courthouse offices are closed, which is a red flag.
Scammers may ask for payments of hundreds or thousands of dollars, often using caller ID spoofing to appear as a local or legitimate number.
The actual penalty for disobeying a jury summons is currently $50 for each time a juror fails to appear.
Senior citizens are often targeted and particularly vulnerable to these scams, but anyone can be duped by the perpetrators.Scamming often relies on gift cards, wire transfers, and cryptocurrency transactions.
Residents are advised to hang up or ignore these calls, texts, or emails and not to provide personal information or payment.
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