[GreenKeys] Jury Duty Scam

[Don Robert House]

Subject: FW: LEGAL UPDATE - Jury Duty Scam

1.  The Army Criminal Investigative Division at Fort Campbell, KY  
provided
the following information on a new scam they have seen.  This  
information
should be disseminated as a preventative law measure to ensure that our
personnel are not victims of this scam as it moves across the  
country.  This
method, known as the "Jury Duty Scam," is being used by identity  
thieves to
deceive victims into revealing their personal information.

2. The Scammer calls the residence or office number of the Victim and
identifies himself as an officer or employee of the local court or
jurisdiction. The Scammer announces to the Victim that he or she has  
failed
to report for jury duty and a bench warrant was issued for his or her
arrest. The Victim's reaction is one of shock and surprise which  
places the
Victim at an immediate disadvantage and, consequently, makes the  
Victim much
more susceptible to the scam. The Victim will rightly deny that a  
jury duty
notification was received.

3. The Scammer shifts into high gear, reassuring the Victim of the
possibility this is all "just a misunderstanding" or "some sort of  
clerical
error" that can all be straightened up on the phone.  All the Victim  
needs
to do is "verify" his or her information with a few simple questions. If
there is reluctance on the Victim's part, the Scammer will threaten  
that the
failure to provide the information will result in an immediate  
execution of
the arrest warrant. The Scammer obtains names, Social Security Numbers,
dates of birth and will solicit credit card or bank account numbers  
claiming
these will be used by their credit bureau to "verify" the Victim's  
identity.
Family members who receive these calls are especially vulnerable to
coercion. Threats against the Sponsor's military career, should he or  
she be
arrested and now have a criminal record, are frightening and persuasive.

4.  Our personnel and their adult family members must be made aware  
of this
threat to their personal information and identities. Legitimate court
employees will never call to solicit information, and would send any
official notifications by standard mail delivery. Any person  
receiving such
calls should record the Scammer's phone number (if Caller ID is  
available)
and immediately report the contact to the local police.

5.  Please contact LT Eric Osterhues (N09D1) at 703-692-4575 with any
questions.

Very respectfully,

LT Eric J. Osterhues, JAGC, USN
Office of the Vice Chief of Naval Operations
Deputy Assistant for Legal and Legislative Matters (N09D1)
2000 Navy Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20350-2000