Pima County residents warned about jury duty scam

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - The Pima County Sheriff's Department said it has received several reports of jury service scams in the county, according to a news release.

Someone claiming to be a law enforcement officer, or representative of the court has been calling residents in Pima County, telling them they are being contacted due to a "failure to appear" for jury duty.

According to the release, the caller then tells the person that they have failed to report for jury duty and have incurred a fine or have an outstanding warrant. They are then told to pay the fine by purchasing a prepaid card.

The caller is a scammer and is not from the Pima County Superior Court or PCSD. A person who has failed to report for jury duty will never be contacted by telephone or email and told to pay a fine, in order to avoid being arrested for failure to appear.

Those who have received this kind of call are advised not to make any payments, provide prepaid cards, credit card information or any other personal information and never give out their social security number.

A person who has failed to appear for jury duty will receive a notice card in the mail that will read:

FAILURE TO APPEAR NOTICE: Our records indicate you failed to appear as instructed for jury service on the date noted above. SECOND SUMMONS NOTICE: You must immediately call the jury office at 724-4222 to reschedule your jury service. Failure to contact the jury office may result in further action being brought against you by this Court as prescribed by Arizona law. WWW.SC.PIMA.GOV/JURY

Anyone who has been a victim of a scam like this should call the Jury Commissioners Office at 520-724-4222 immediately, to verify whether a jury summons is in effect.

City of Tucson residents, who believe they may have been scammed should also file a local Tucson Police Department report at any TPD substation, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by calling 520-791-4444, option #2.

Pima County residents who are scammed may file a fraud report online at www.pimasheriff.org or by calling 520-351-4900 or 1-888-477-2328.

Those who have lost money, should immediately contact their local law enforcement agency.

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