Caller says you missed jury duty and will be arrested unless you pay now
A caller posing as a sheriff, US Marshal, or federal prosecutor claims you missed jury duty and a warrant was issued for your arrest. They demand payment by gift card, Bitcoin, or wire transfer to avoid jail.
Also known as: jury duty phone scam, missed jury service scam, fake arrest warrant call, court officer impersonation
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Hang up immediately — real law enforcement and courts do not demand money by phone
- 2 Never pay a caller demanding gift cards, Bitcoin, or wire transfer to avoid arrest — this is always a scam
- 3 If you genuinely think you may have missed jury duty, look up your county clerk's official number on a .gov website and call them directly
- 4 Do not call back any number the caller provides — scammers spoof real numbers
- 5 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ Real courts notify you about missed jury duty by U.S. Mail — never by unsolicited phone call
- ⚠ No court or law enforcement agency will demand payment by gift card, Bitcoin, or wire transfer
- ⚠ The real penalty for missing jury duty is a small fine ($50–$100) imposed by a judge in open court — not over the phone
- ⚠ Caller may send a photoshopped 'arrest warrant' image or PDF via text or email to appear credible — a real law enforcement officer will never send you a warrant this way
- ⚠ A follow-up text or email may link to a polished fake court website with official-looking seals demanding immediate online payment — real courts never collect fines through unsolicited online portals
- ⚠ Caller may instruct you to lie to bank tellers or store cashiers ('say it's a personal gift')
- ⚠ Caller ID may be spoofed to show a real court or law enforcement number
Known variants
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Caller claims you are a federal fraud suspect (money laundering, identity theft). A second scammer poses as your bank confirming 'suspicious activity.' You are told to protect your funds by wiring them to a government 'safe account.'
Last seen: 6/14/2026
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After the phone call, scammers text or email a PDF that looks like a real arrest warrant — official seals, case numbers, a dollar amount owed. Some link to a polished fake court website demanding immediate payment up to $10,000 by card, crypto, or Bitcoin ATM. FTC June 11 2026 alert.
Last seen: 6/14/2026
Sources
- FBI Atlanta — Federal Authorities Warn of Fraudsters Impersonating Prosecutors and Law Enforcement (Jan 2026)
- FBI Atlanta — Jury Duty Scammers Target Georgians
- US Courts — Juror Scams
- District of Maryland — Jury Duty Scam Alert (Feb 2026)
- ScamAdviser — Arrest Warrant? Why Your Jury Duty Call Is a 2026 AI Phone Scam
- Summit County Prosecutor — Jury Duty Phone Scam Warning (Apr 2026)
- FBI Miami — Government impersonation scam increase, South Florida (Apr 2026)
- Nextgov — Government official impersonation scam complaints doubled in 2025 (Apr 2026)
- FTC Consumer Alert — Ignore calls, texts, and emails threatening to arrest you for missing jury duty (Jun 2026)
- CBS8 / Bitdefender — New twist on jury duty scam sends victims to fake government websites (Jun 2026)