Scammers posing as local law enforcement are calling, saying you missed jury duty and are threatening “serious legal consequences”. They first leave a message for you to call back, visit a website, or schedule a meeting. Next, they may demand payment of a fine and ask for your sensitive personal information. They may claim there is a warrant out for your arrest.

While all these claims are very jarring, hang up and do not pay! Always take steps to verify the legitimacy of unknown officials, using publicly available resources. Connect with people you trust to discuss unexpected, urgent, unsettling, or unknown communications.

For jury duty specifically, know that you would be issued a letter, and you would not receive a threatening call about it, even if you actually did miss an actual jury duty assignment. Also know that, in order to serve jury duty, you first have to be selected through a process called a jury draw that occurs at the courthouse. If you were supposed to serve as a juror, you would have been informed.

When in doubt, check it out. The Consumer Assistance Program is your local Vermont resource for scam prevention information: ago.vermont.gov/cap or 1-800-649-2424.