Court / Jury Duty Scam Phone Numbers
Numbers impersonating County Court / Sheriff. Caller claims you missed jury duty and a warrant has been issued for your arrest.
How the Court / Jury Duty Scam works
The caller claims to be a sheriff's deputy, a court clerk, or a "warrant officer" notifying the recipient that they failed to appear for jury duty and that a warrant has been issued. To make the warrant go away, the recipient must pay a fine immediately — typically by gift card or prepaid debit card. Real courts notify jurors of missed duty by mail; arrest warrants for missed jury duty are extremely rare and would never be resolved by phone payment.
Common pressure tactics
- "Failure to appear" claim
- Threats of arrest
- Demands gift card payment
- Fake court badge numbers
The script you'll usually hear
Most court / jury duty calls open with one of three hooks: a fake "officer" or "agent" introducing themselves with a badge number, a recorded voice claiming an account or status has been frozen, or an aggressive demand to "respond within the hour" to avoid a consequence. The script then escalates pressure quickly. Recipients who push back are typically transferred to a "supervisor" who continues the same pitch with a slightly more authoritative tone — there is rarely a real second person on the line; it's almost always the same call-center agent putting on a different voice.
If you receive one of these calls
- Hang up. Do not "press 1" or stay on the line — both confirm a working number.
- Report it to the agency the caller pretended to be. For County Court / Sheriff, find the agency's official complaint channel and forward the time of call, the spoofed caller-ID number, and any voicemail recording you have.
- Block the number on your device. If the calls keep coming from new numbers, consider a call-blocking app or the call-screening features your phone or carrier already offers.