BBB warns of jury duty scam in Minnesota

An extra focus came on jury duty recently with a panel of Stearns County residents selected to hear the trial of a Twin Cities man accused of killing a Mendota Heights police officer. The trial was moved to St. Cloud because of pretrial publicity in St. Paul. This jury will be involved with one of the most closely scrutinized cases of the year in Central Minnesota, but juries are selected all the time -- and it turns out they're the backdrop for a financial scam that has caught the attention of the Better Business Bureau.

Though most adults are aware they may be called for jury duty, not everyone is familiar with the process of how people are summoned. Scammers, however, may contact you claiming you've missed jury duty. The calls or messages threaten people with arrest or jail time if they don't pay the fine for "missing" jury duty. Scammers then seek personal information like bank account or credit card numbers -- even Social Security numbers. The BBB advises if you get a call from someone who claims to be a court official and they ask for payment or personal information, it's a scam.

In Minnesota, jury notices are sent through the mail. Minnesota law requires people to serve on a jury, if qualified. But no one would call, email or text you demanding payment for missing jury duty.

If you get one of these calls, report it to your county's jury office and also inform the BBB. Be aware scammers can disguise the number that may appear on your caller ID so it could appear to be coming from the courthouse. Don't give sensitive personal information to anyone over the phone.

If you missed jury duty, you will be sent a notification in the mail. If you have any doubt the mailing is legitimate, contact your county courthouse.

If you're aware of other topics we should look into at Times On Your Side, send me an email at kallenspach@stcloudtimes.com or call 255-8745. Follow all our watchdog reports at www.sctimes.com/watchdog.