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: 7/9/2026
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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: 7/9/2026
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Callers use real county employee names and the victim's actual home address, date of birth, or employer to make the warrant sound authentic. Medical professionals are targeted as 'missed expert witnesses' who failed to appear in court — same payment demand, different pretext. Wyandotte County Kansas July 2026.
Last seen: 7/23/2026
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Scammer emails impersonating a local sheriff's office captain, directing you to join a "ZOOM COURT OFFICIAL PROCEEDING" for a "Federal Court Virtual Disposition." Email uses judicial language ("monitored by a judge in real time") and warns detention follows non-attendance. PBSO Palm Beach County alert Jul 27 2026.
Last seen: 8/22/2026
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)
- AARP Fraud Alert July 2026 — Jury duty scam listed as active summer threat
- KCTV5 — Wyandotte County jury duty scam uses real employee names and victim personal data (Jul 15 2026)
- PBSO — Fake Zoom Court Proceeding Email Scam: sheriff's office captain impersonated (Jul 27, 2026)
- WCAX — Scam Alert: Fake jury duty warrant calls hit Clinton County (Aug 21, 2026)