Jury scam reported
The Pittsburgh office of the U.S. Marshals Service issued a warning Tuesday of a nationwide telephone scam that has infiltrated Southwestern Pennsylvania.
The callers reportedly claim to be a U.S. marshal, court officer or other law enforcement official looking to collect a fine in lieu of an arrest for failing to report for jury duty. U.S. marshals do not call to arrange for payment of fines for failure to appear for jury duty or for any other infractions.
In order to appear more credible, a caller may even provide information like badge numbers, the names of actual federal judges and courthouse addresses. Victims have been told they can avoid arrest by paying a fine using a reloadable credit card number to start the process. Anyone receiving calls is urged by the marshals service not to divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers, even if they sound legitimate.
Anyone victimized by the scam is encouraged to contact local police, the U.S. Marshals office or the FBI.