Officials warn of jury scam

Yet another scam to try to steal your identity has surfaced.

The solution is simple: never give out personal information over the telephone unless you initiated the call.

This particular scam begins when someone calls your home threatening your arrest because you’ve missed jury duty.

Claiming to be a jury coordinator, the person says a warrant has been issued for your arrest.

When you claim you never received a jury duty summons, the caller asks for your social security number and date of birth to verify your identity. Warnings have been issued from courts in California, New Mexico, and Minnesota and the scam has reportedly been used in Ohio, Maryland and New York.

Local authorities have not heard of this scam affecting Cherokee County residents, but agree that a warning is needed.

“You should never give anybody your social security number over the telephone,” said Cherokee County Sheriff Bill Blanton.

Terry Jolly, jury coordinator for the Cherokee County Clerk of Court’s office, said she is not aware of any similar scams affecting local residents.

Jolly said she compiles a list of those who haven’t responded to a summons on the Monday before a jury is scheduled to report.

“An officer will take my list and track those people down and tell them to call the Clerk’s office because their summons has not been returned,” she said. “There’s no reason for anyone to call and ask for your social security number. If I need to verify if someone is a junior or senior, I’ll ask for their birthdate.”