Residents of the Northern District of Georgia continue to receive fraudulent phone calls and emails claiming that the victim failed to appear for jury duty in federal court and faces an arrest warrant or similar negative consequences. The scammer tells the victim that he or she can avoid these consequences by making a payment, which may include purchasing a pre-paid card—such as a Green Dot card or gift card—and then giving the card number to the scammer.

The scammer may sound convincing and use real information about the victim; real court addresses; and real names of law enforcement officers, court officials, and federal judges to make the scam appear more credible. Scammers may even “spoof” the phone number on caller ID so that the call falsely appears to be from a court number (such as 404-215-1600) or the number of another government agency. They also might email you a false arrest warrant or appearance bond that may look like an official document.

For more detailed information, click here.