You didn’t show up for Manatee jury duty and need to pay for that? How to avoid a scam
Did you miss jury duty in Manatee County and now have to pay the price?
Beware: That warning could be a scam.
The Manatee County Clerk’s Office is warning people not to fall for a jury duty scam happening over the phone.
The scam works like this:
A caller states you have missed jury duty and now must pay a fine using a prepaid gift card.
The caller then tells the victim to buy the gift card and then send it to the Sarasota County Clerk and Comptroller’s office.
The Manatee clerk’s office told the Bradenton Herald it learned of the scam last week and knows of at least two residents contacted by the scammer.
One of the people purchased six gift cards totaling $2,700.
According to the clerk’s office, a scam like this isn’t new to the area. A similar scam in the past involved scammers calling jurors pretending to be law enforcement, threatening to arrest or embarrass them if payment was not made.
The clerk’s office said its employees would never contact residents out of the blue.
Protecting yourself against jury scams
Here’s how residents can protect themselves against jury duty scams, according to the office of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody:
- Know that a jury duty summons will come by mail, not by phone or email
- If no jury duty summons is received, then ignore a phone call from anyone claiming to be calling about jury duty
- Contact your local court clerk’s office to see if there is a valid jury duty issue
- Never give personal or financial information over the phone to a stranger, especially if the caller acts aggressively
- Recognize that anyone asking for payments to be made through a gift card is a scammer
- Be wary of Caller ID, as this can be spoofed, making a phone call look like it is coming from a real source
To report concerns in Manatee County
To report: Manatee County residents should contact the Clerk and Comptroller’s office with any concerns regarding their jury duty summons or jury duty service.
Phone: 941-748-7407.
