The Clerk’s Office has been made aware that Indian River County residents are receiving calls telling them they have missed jury duty and will be arrested if they do not pay a fine.
Callers are posing as a member of a local law enforcement agency and the recipients of these calls are being threatened with arrest if they do not immediately make a payment using a pre-paid card. These calls are a scam.
“Unfortunately, at least four residents of the County have fallen victim to this scam, each one paying out money to the scammers. In one case, a total of $7,200 was lost by a resident to the scammer,” the Clerk’s Office said in a statement.
The “jury duty” call is one of many types of scams where the caller threatens to arrest you if a fine is not paid. The scammer pretends to be someone who has the authority to arrest you because you missed jury duty. The caller usually demands payment in the form of prepaid credit cards, iTunes cards, or something similar. You will be instructed to provide the caller with the numbers on the cards. At that point, your money will be gone. These forms of payment, along with certain types of wire and bank transfers, are often untraceable.
Should you be a recipient of a suspicious telephone call or email, please remember the following:
- The Clerk’s Office and our county’s law enforcement agencies will NOT call you to discuss a failure to appear for jury duty, nor will a demand for payment over the phone be made in lieu of an arrest. Jury Summons are mailed to the address on file with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. If a juror misses their assigned day, the Clerk’s Office will send a letter with the Clerk’s signature to the same address the Summons was sent using the United States Postal Service.
- While the Clerk’s Office will make phone calls to discuss fines or fees due on court cases, the Clerk’s Office will NOT call regarding fines assessed for missing jury duty. Also, the Clerk’s Office will not accept a payment over the phone. Instead, residents wishing to make a payment over the phone will be directed to contact our payment processing vendor, nCourt, to make a payment. Residents would be able to pay nCourt over the phone or through their payment processing website at www.indianrivercotix.com.
The Clerk’s Office is reminding every resident to remain vigilant. Scrutinize every call you receive. If you do not feel comfortable with a phone call you receive from someone claiming to be from the Clerk’s Office, please note the department that is calling you and call the Clerk’s Office directly to verify the information.
The Indian River County Courthouse’s operator can be reached at 772-226-3100, and they can direct your call to the appropriate department.
