The Maryland Judiciary has issued a warning to the public about scams related to court activities. These scams include phone calls and emails that falsely claim association with the courts.
One prevalent scam involves a telephone call where the caller pretends to be from a court, accusing individuals of contempt for missing jury duty. The caller demands payment over the phone, usually via a pre-paid card. The Maryland Judiciary advises that these calls are fraudulent and urges recipients to hang up immediately. "Maryland courts do not call citizens to get payment over the phone for a fine for missing jury duty." Individuals can verify their juror status or report suspicious calls by contacting their Circuit Court jury office, with contact details available on the Maryland Judiciary website.
Another scam involves an email purportedly concerning a court case, which contains a virus. Opening attachments or clicking links in these emails triggers malware that infects computers. Recipients are advised: "Do not open the email or any attachments, don’t click on any links or unsubscribe." Instead, they should delete such emails.
A separate email scam targets federal court districts, seeking personal information under false pretenses of jury service registration. This scam has been reported in at least 14 federal court districts and is unrelated to eJuror, an online program used by many U.S. court districts. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts emphasizes that eJuror never requests personal identification information via email responses. Those suspecting fraud should contact their nearest federal district court's clerk's office and take steps to protect their personal data if they have responded.
Further information on protecting oneself from such scams is available through resources like the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) and the Federal Trade Commission website.