201812.13
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Orange County residents report spike in jury duty scams, identity thieves posing as court employees

by in News

A recent spike in jury duty complaints from Orange County residents prompted officials on Wednesday, Dec. 12, to warn people not to be fooled by scammers posing as court employees and threatening bogus penalties over the phone.

The scam, which involves callers asking for personal information and payments after claiming that their victims had failed to comply with the terms of jury duty in state or federal courts, is not a new one, according to Kostas Kalaitzidis, a spokesman for the Superior Court of California in Orange County.

He said court authorities typically hear a few complaints of this type of fraud throughout the year, but courthouse employees have fielded an unusually high number of calls from potential identity-theft victims over the past weeks.

The Orange County court system hasn’t had the resources to keep a running tally of the latest alleged scam attempts, but Kalaitzidis said the number of anecdotal reports he has received recently has been alarming.

“These calls trickle in throughout the year, but to get so many in such a short span of time is unusual,” he said. “It tells me that someone out there is looking to take advantage of people.”

In other versions of identity-theft attempts, callers may present themselves as representatives of the Social Securty Administration or some other agency. A legitimate government employee should have all of a resident’s relevant personal data on file before contacting them, and should have no need to ask for it over the phone, according to Kalaitzidis.

He said the court, as well as other local, state and federal agencies, will never instruct a person to make a payment over the phone.

Kalaitzidis urged people who believe they may have been targeted by scammers to immediately contact local law enforcement. He said every report gives investigators information that can help them identify and build a case against identity thieves.