Don't be fooled by the most recent phone and email scams in Michigan. The newest one is a person who claims to be from a local court calls to inform you that you have missed a jury date and there is now a bench warrant for your arrest, which can all be avoided if you pay $500 by credit card. Yes, when reading scenarios involving scams it may seem obvious, but the callers use intimidation techniques, panic sets in, and it can happen to anyone.
There have been a few variations of this scam going around Michigan, says State Court Administrator Chad C. Schmucker, but the most recent has been in Muskegon County, (Beware of scam phone calls, e-mails, Ingham County Legal News,
http://www.legalnews.com/ingham/1372297/).
Should you receive a call like this, protect yourself by:
- Be suspicious of any calls, e-mails, or texts who claim to be a court official.
- Another hint it's a scam, if they ask for your social security number to avoid arrest.
- Be leery if they ask for immediate payment to avoid arrest.
- Do not give out any personal information such as social security, bank or credit card information.
- Report any suspicious active to the authorities and call the court that the caller is claiming to be from. Besides attempting to scam victims out of money, callers can also be charged for posing as court officials.