Jury duty and fake warrant scam calls

"This is Sergeant Miller with the County Sheriff's Office. You failed to appear for jury duty, and a judge has issued a bench warrant for your arrest. You can resolve this today by posting a bond." It sounds serious, the caller knows your name and address, and they don't want you to hang up. That's the point.

What the call sounds like

Fake warrant scams come in several flavors. Typical versions (illustrative only):

• Missed jury duty: you ignored a jury summons, and now there's a warrant and a fine of $1,000 or more.
• Missed subpoena or court date: you were supposed to testify as a witness, or appear about a ticket or a debt.
• Federal warrant: a "Deputy U.S. Marshal" says a federal warrant is out in your name.
• The paperwork: a follow-up text or email with an official-looking warrant, court seal and the amount you "owe".
• The fake website: the FTC has warned about a newer twist where you're sent to a lookalike court site to enter your birthdate and Social Security number and pay a fine (sometimes thousands of dollars), or are told to pay at a "government kiosk", which doesn't exist.

Then the instructions: stay on the line, go to a store for gift cards or prepaid cards, withdraw cash and feed it into a Bitcoin ATM, or send money through a payment app. Some callers say you'll be arrested the moment you hang up.

How courts and law enforcement really work

• Courts contact jurors by mail. The federal courts say most contact between a court and a prospective juror happens through the U.S. mail, and federal courts don't require anyone to give sensitive information in a phone call or email.
• No phone warnings about arrest. The U.S. Marshals Service says no legitimate law enforcement agency will call to tell you about an impending arrest warrant, and the Marshals never ask for gift card numbers, wire transfers or bitcoin.
• Fines come after court, not before. One federal court's scam warning points out that a fine is never imposed until after a person has appeared in court, and it's never payable by gift card. A fine isn't something an officer collects over the phone.

Red flags

• A threat of immediate arrest unless you pay now.
• Being told to stay on the phone while you drive to a store, bank or crypto ATM.
• Requests for your Social Security number or date of birth to "verify" you.
• A warrant sent by text or email.
• Caller ID showing a real courthouse or sheriff's office. Scammers can spoof official numbers. See caller ID spoofing.

How to check

Hang up. Then look up the court yourself:

1. For a federal court, find the clerk of court's office for your local U.S. District Court using the Federal Court Finder on uscourts.gov.
2. For state or county jury service, look up your county court's official website and call the jury office on the number listed there.
3. Ask whether there's any record of a summons, a missed appearance, or a warrant in your name. Don't use a number the caller gave you.

If you already paid or shared information

• Gift cards or prepaid cards: call the card company on the number on the back and report the scam immediately.
• Bitcoin ATM or crypto: contact the ATM operator or exchange, and keep your receipts and wallet addresses.
• Payment app, wire or bank: contact your bank or the app right away and ask them to reverse the payment.
• SSN or date of birth: visit IdentityTheft.gov and consider a fraud alert or credit freeze.

Then follow what to do if you've been scammed.

Where to report

• The FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• The clerk of court for the court the caller named. Impersonating a federal court official is a crime, and courts want to know.
• If they claimed to be a U.S. Marshal, your local U.S. Marshals office; and your local FBI field office or ic3.gov.

Government impersonation is a big business. The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report counted more than 32,000 government impersonation complaints, with nearly $800 million in reported losses. Check the number on ShadyCall. Fake warrant callers often show up under government impersonation, and the number page lists FTC and FCC complaints filed about it.