Iowa court officials are warning of a jury duty scam that’s been happening in several other states. Rebecca Colton is the assistant to the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court and says it’s a new twist on a phone scam. She says scammers claim they’re court officials calling to follow up on a person’s failure to show up for jury duty. She says they then ask for personal information like your social security number to verify you’ve been called for jury duty, and threaten punishment if you don’t comply. Colton says the scammers just want the information to steal your identity. Colton says if you get such a call — it’s not legitimate. She says, “Although court employees, court staff, will on occasion call people who fail to show up for jury service, they will never, ever ask anyone to disclose confidential information over the telephone.” Colton says they don’t even ask for social security numbers in their written jury questionnaire. Colton says the scam hasn’t made it to Iowa yet, but she says you should be on the lookout.She says if you get such a call, you should hang up and call police. She says you should get a notice in the mail for jury duty. And she says if you have any questions about jury duty, you should call the local clerk of court office. The scam thus far has been reported in Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.
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