Is Someone Claiming You've Missed Jury Duty? It Might Be a Scam

Understanding how courts handle this civic duty can help you avoid impostors who may try to steal your money or personal information

Andy Markowitz and Christina Ianzito,

Updated March 11, 2026

AARP

Reviewed by

Kathy Stokes

Comments

En español

Updated March 11, 2026

Key takeaways

Real courts handle missed jury service through mailed notices and court appearances, not surprise calls.
Scammers often pressure targets to stay on the phone so there’s little time to verify claims.
Requests for payment or personal data are designed to steal money or enable identity theft.

A woman in Sarasota received an upsetting call: Someone claiming to be a sheriff from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office — whose number showed up on her caller ID, so it seemed legitimate — notified her that a warrant had been issued for her arrest because she’d missed jury duty. She was told she could pay a penalty through a “Bonding Transition Center,” which was actually a cryptocurrency kiosk, to avoid arrest. It was a scam, she’d learn, after sending $12,825 to the criminals, one of whom had contacted her from a Georgia state prison, according to Roger Handberg, an attorney who specializes in financial crimes and a former U.S. Attorney for the 35-county Middle District of Florida, who notes that this is hardly an isolated incident.

“We’re seeing a real uptick in the scam,” he says, adding that criminals are using the names of real sheriffs and federal judges and spoofing real numbers to perpetrate their schemes. “I really feel like this is going to be the tip of the iceberg.”

The facts about jury duty scams

Getting called for jury service is a routine part of life for most Americans. But if that summons to civic duty comes in the form of a phone call or email, be suspicious: It’s probably a jury duty scam.

In this long-running form of government impostor scam, criminals posing as court or law enforcement officials, such as a U.S. marshal or sheriff’s officer, claim you’ve failed to appear for jury duty and face imminent arrest. The only way out is to pay an immediate fine via credit card, gift card, money transfer or cryptocurrency kiosk, often referred to as a crypto ATM. (AARP advocates for laws regulating these kiosks to protect consumers from fraud; see their legal status in your state on our map.)

Others will ask for personal information such as your Social Security number and date of birth, supposedly so they can check court records, but really so they can steal your identity.

Some aim for maximum menace, trying to browbeat you into complying. Others play good cop, sympathetically promising to help you clear your name and recoup the payment down the road.

Join Our Fight Against Fraud

Here’s what you can do to help protect people 50 and older from scams and fraud:

Tell lawmakers to stop criminals from using crypto kiosks to steal from us.
Sign up to become a digital fraud fighter to help raise awareness about the latest scams.
Read more about how we’re fighting for you every day in Congress and across the country.
AARP is your fierce defender on the issues that matter to people 50-plus. Become a member or renew your membership today.

Real summonses for jury duty and notices that you’ve skipped it come in the mail. No court official will demand payment or personal information from you over the phone. And if you genuinely have missed jury duty, no fine will be imposed until you have a chance to appear in court to explain your failure to appear.

“There are consequences to not showing up for jury duty,” says Handberg, “but they’re not someone calling you up and saying you’re going to be arrested unless you pay money.”

Growing sophistication

It can be hard to identify these calls as scams because scammers go to great lengths to seem legitimate. Victims have reported hearing what sounds like police chatter in the background when they are speaking to a law enforcement impostor.

And criminals may know facts about you that suggest they are legitimate officials.

“They know your name, they know where you live,” says Handberg. “Sometimes, they might even have more information than that. And it really convinces people that it is someone calling from law enforcement because they think, ‘Well, only law enforcement would have this type of information.’” Not so. “There’s a lot that’s available through public records. And I think it surprises people sometimes when they learn how much information is already out there.”

Ironically, people in prison have carried out some of the most widespread jury duty scams in recent years, using contraband cellphones and caller ID “spoofing,” and other easily accessible tech tools to make it seem as if they’re calling from a local courthouse, police department, or sheriff’s office.

Warning signs

You receive a phone call or email claiming you’ve missed jury duty and must pay an immediate fine to avoid arrest.
The person contacting you seeks personal or financial information or payment by wire, gift card or crypto kiosk. Those forms of payment are difficult or impossible to trace, which makes them favored by criminals.
The caller tries to keep you on the phone while you collect the money they’re requesting. (They don’t want you to hang up and stop to think or to tell someone who’d interfere in their scheme.)

How to protect yourself from jury duty scams

Hang up if someone claiming to be a U.S. marshal or court official calls you out of the blue with a jury duty warning.
Know how courts actually handle jury matters. Genuine communications about jury service come by mail, not phone or email, and court officials will not ask you for sensitive information.
Contact the relevant federal, state or local court to see if you have an actual jury duty problem. Search online for contact information and only call numbers you find on official websites.
Don’t give out personal or financial information over the phone or by email to a purported court official.
If you receive an email or voicemail about missed jury service, look up and call the official number for a court or law enforcement agency to see if it has attempted to contact you.
Don’t assume a call is legitimate because the caller ID says it comes from a court office or law enforcement agency. Scammers use spoofing technology to trick caller ID.

More resources

Report suspected jury duty scams to the FBI at IC3.gov and to local law enforcement. Sometimes, people are embarrassed to come forward after they’ve been victimized, but it’s important to report these crimes. (Learn why.)
Contact the U.S. district court for your area to find out if a communication about federal jury duty is legitimate.
Call the court clerk’s office for your city or county for inquiries about jury service in that court.

%{postComment}%

The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

About the authors

Christina Ianzito covers scams and fraud, and is the books editor for aarp.org and AARP The Magazine.

Andy Markowitz is an AARP senior writer and editor covering Social Security and retirement. He is a former editor of the Prague Post and Baltimore City Paper.

About the reviewer

Kathy Stokes is the director of fraud prevention programs at the AARP Fraud Watch Network.

Unlock Access to AARP Members Edition

Join AARP to Continue

Already a Member? Login