Jury duty scams in Washington state are on the rise. Scammers send targeted calls, emails, and mailings telling potential victims they are in serious trouble for missing past jury duty. These scammers can be very convincing by using your name, address, Social Security number, and other personal information to make them seem legitimate. It's important to remember that Washington state court personnel will NEVER ask for a payment or to pay a fine over the phone.

The most common method scammers use to contact victims is over the phone. They often "spoof" the phone number on the caller ID so that the call appears to originate from a court number or a local police department. The scammer then tells the victim they can avoid arrest by paying an immediate fine and walks them through purchasing a prepaid debit or gift card or making an electronic payment to satisfy the "fine." The scammer can sound very intimidating and threaten their victims that the police will be coming to arrest them and with mandatory jail time.

Sometimes, the Washington state courts will reach out via phone or email. However, they will never ask for your Social Security number or payment. If you suspect a call you receive is from a scammer, the best thing you can do is hang up the phone and call the courts directly. Scammers can spoof a number calling in, but they cannot change the number when you call a number out from your phone.

If a person misses jury duty, the court will contact them via mail, and they may need to appear before a judge. Legitimate Washington state court staff will never threaten or intimidate you over the phone.

If you receive a jury scam call, contact your local authorities or the local FBI office. If you feel you have given out any personal information or account information, contact your financial institutions and consider freezing your credit.