For millions of North Carolinians, a jury summons in the mailbox is a source of mixed emotions. To some, the inconvenience of a missed workday (or more) spent at the courthouse; to others, an exciting chance to engage with the justice system while exercising civic duty. However, a more sinister jury summons is sweeping the state: one delivered by phone, with nefarious intentions.[i] On September 3, 2025, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office issued a Consumer Alert warning of an uptick in jury scams in Mecklenburg County.[ii]
Jury duty scams combine elements of classic scam phone call schemes with innovative tactics designed to exploit individuals’ unfamiliarity with the court system for financial gain.[iii] First, the victim receives a phone call from an individual claiming to be a member of the court, local police, local sheriff’s office, or a federal agency.[iv] Sophisticated scammers use the name of a real judge or officer from public records, along with a false Caller ID from that office to increase legitimacy if the victim attempts to verify their caller online.[v] The scammer then claims that the victim has failed to appear for jury service and a warrant is being issued or has been issued for their arrest.[vi] After the trap is set, the scammer offers a way out: pay a fine over the phone, and the warrant will not be issued or will be retracted.[vii] The victim is then directed to pay via credit card, prepaid debit card, or other method of payment, like PayPal or cryptocurrency.[viii] Particularly malevolent scammers may also ask to “verify the identity” of the target by soliciting personal information, including the target’s Social Security number, date of birth, or other sensitive information.[ix]
Although such a scheme may seem simple and obvious to some, it is highly effective. The true damages of scams like these are hard to measure, largely because victims often feel shame after the event or victims are genuinely oblivious to what has happened to them.[x] However, isolated reports from North Carolina and other states suggest total losses in the millions, with thousands of dollars taken from some individual victims.[xi] Furthermore, due to the payment methods used and the overseas nature of many perpetrators, the chance of recovering funds or prosecuting wrongdoers is slim.[xii]
The harm caused by jury duty scams is even greater compared to the statutory fine for citizens who actually miss jury duty: no greater than $50.[xiii] In North Carolina, you cannot be held in contempt of court or arrested for disobeying a jury summons; even if you refuse to pay the fine, it will result in only a civil judgment issued against you.[xiv]
Jury duty scams are effective because they prey on victims’ legal and civic illiteracy to coerce behavior with strong-arm tactics. It is no secret that America’s civic illiteracy is staggering. Only 51% of Americans can name all three branches of government, let alone navigate themselves through the legal process.[xv] Furthermore, millions of Americans go their whole lives without interacting with the judicial system beyond watching Suits or Law and Order. When a bad actor calls claiming that a warrant is issued for the victim’s arrest because they disobeyed a jury summons, victims do not have the skills to adequately assess the situation due to their unfamiliarity with the legal process. This is compounded if a sophisticated scammer responds to a victim’s doubts by texting a forged arrest warrant claiming the legal authority for their actions.[xvi] When faced with such apparent authority, a victim who does not possess the tools to otherwise refute the scammer’s contentions is more vulnerable to fall prey.
It is clear that the success of jury duty scams is due to a twofold problem: tactics used by the scammers themselves and deeper flaws in the nation’s civic literacy. To the first problem, state-level officials and the Federal Trade Commission are attempting to warn the public of the existence of scams and prosecute the wrongdoers who can be found.[xvii] Phone and online tip lines to report scams are available, and public information campaigns are underway in an attempt to protect citizens.[xviii] However, public education campaigns are often minimally effective in helping with scams, as seen in the rise in advanced fee fraud losses (a category of financial fraud that includes the famous “Nigerian Prince” scheme and its modern iterations) despite extensive education efforts.[xix] Instead, an opportunity exists to combat jury duty scams by increasing legal and civic literacy, giving victims an increased toolbox of skills to navigate scam environments as well as a host of other situations. A first step in this can be taken by the legal community. In 2020, the Judicial Conference of the United States affirmed civic education as a core component of judicial service.[xx] To bridge the civic literacy gap, attorneys can lead from the front: so that when the “police” calls about a jury summons, everyone can know to hang up.
[i] Consumer Alert: Don’t Fall for Jury Duty Scams, N.C. Dep’t of Justice (Sept. 3, 2025), https://ncdoj.gov/consumer-alert-dont-fall-for-jury-duty-scams/
[ii] Id.
[iii] Kari Barrows, $1.4 million already lost in jury duty scams this year in one SC county, sheriff warns, WLOS News 13 (May 30, 2024) https://wlos.com/news/local/jury-duty-scam-calls-spartanburg-county-sheriffs-office-upstate-south-carolina-million-thousands-lost-victims
[iv] Jury Service Scams, N.C. Judicial Branch, https://www.nccourts.gov/help-topics/jury-service/jury-service-scams
[v] Id.
[vi] Id.
[vii] Id.
[viii] Id.
[ix] Id.
[x] Blame and Shame in the Context of Financial Fraud, FINRA Investor Education Foundation, 6 (June 2022); John Wasik, Why Do Scam Victims Not Know They Are Being Scammed? 3 Key Warnings, Forbes (June 6, 2023)
[xi] Ben Briscoe, New scam uses crypto kiosks to target people in Guilford County, WFMY News 2 (May 23, 2025), https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/2-wants-to-know/crypto-federal-kiosk-jury-duty-scam-guilford-county/83-665a960f-a376-4159-8a58-197cb593f478; Barrows, supra note 3.
[xii]Barrows, supra note 9.
[xiii] NC Gen. Stat. § 9-13.
[xiv] Id.
[xv] Don Willett, Civic Illiteracy and the Rule of Law, 42 Cato Policy Report 6, 11 (2020)
[xvi] Scam Alert: Do Not Pay Callers Who Threaten to Arrest You Unless You Pay, Middle District of North Carolina,https://www.ncmd.uscourts.gov/scam-alert-do-not-pay-callers-who-threaten-arrest-you-unless-you-pay (last visited Nov. 17, 2025).
[xvii] Scammers are using fake websites in a twist on jury duty scams, Consumer Advice Federal Trade Commission (Aug. 4, 2025), https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/08/scammers-are-using-fake-websites-twist-jury-duty-scams.
[xviii] Id.
[xix] Federal Bureau of Investigation Internet Crime Report 2024, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 19 (2024) https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2024_IC3Report.pdf; FTC Creates Teaser Website to Help Consumers Spot Advance Fee Loan Scams,Federal Trade Commission (May 21, 2010), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2010/05/ftc-creates-teaser-website-help-consumers-spot-advance-fee-loan-scams
[xx] Willett, supra note 16 at 11
