Jury Duty Scams: Calls Saying You Missed Jury Duty and Must Pay a Fine

A caller says you missed jury duty, that there is a warrant for your arrest, and that paying a fine today will make it go away. Courts do not work this way, and you can check with the court yourself.

By Prudents·11 min read

October 2, 2026, 4:14 PM·Updated September 30, 2026, 6:33 PM

A man in his forties standing in the driveway of a suburban house, holding a cordless phone to his ear with a serious expression, garage door open behind him, morning light

How a jury duty scam call usually goes

A jury duty scam is a call, text or email from someone pretending to be a sheriff’s deputy, a U.S. Marshal or a court officer, who says you missed jury duty and must pay a fine right away to avoid arrest. No court is behind it. The court’s name and the officer’s title are borrowed to frighten you.

The call tends to follow the same steps. We wrote this sequence from the pattern described by the FTC, the FBI and state courts, so you can recognize it while it is happening.

The opening. A calm, official voice gives a rank, a name and sometimes a badge number. The caller ID may show the name of a sheriff’s office or court.
The proof. The caller already knows your full name, your address, maybe your date of birth. The FTC notes that this is done to catch you off guard.
The problem. You “failed to appear” for jury service, a judge has signed a warrant, and officers may come to your home or workplace today.
The way out. You can settle it now by paying a fine by payment app, cryptocurrency, gift card or wire.
The pressure to stay on the line. You are told that hanging up will lead to your arrest, a threat the FTC says real officers do not make.

Each step is meant to keep you from calling the court, and a call to the court is what settles the question.

Why the call sounds so convincing

The call works because it borrows real details: real names, real places, sometimes a real phone number on the screen. None of those prove that the caller works for a court.

Caller ID shows whatever number the caller chose to send, which is how a scam call can appear to come from a sheriff’s office. The FBI’s Charlotte office warned in 2024 that these callers manipulate caller ID to make the call look like it comes from the courthouse or a government agency. How caller ID spoofing works explains why a real number on the screen is not verification.

The names can be real too. The same FBI warning describes fake arrest warrants sent by text or email that include the names of actual federal law enforcement officers and prosecutors in North Carolina. Your personal details may come from public records or data leaks.

The newest step is a fake website. In an August 2025 alert, the FTC described callers who send people to an official-looking site with government-style seals, which asks for your birth date and Social Security number to “look up how much you owe,” and then asks for up to $10,000 in fines or sends you to a “government kiosk” to pay in cryptocurrency. The FTC says no such kiosk exists.

The fear is reasonable. Missing a real summons can have consequences, and scammers rely on people wanting to take it seriously.

What real courts do, and what they never do

Courts contact jurors mostly by mail and never collect a fine over the phone. The federal judiciary says most contact between a federal court and a prospective juror happens through the U.S. mail, and that any phone or email contact from real court officials will not include requests for sensitive information.

State courts say the same. The Utah State Courts publish a clear list. They will likely never call you, since jury service communication is typically done by mail. If they do call, they will never ask for a fine payment over the phone. They will never have law enforcement contact you about a failure to appear, never threaten you with arrest or jail over the phone, never ask for prepaid cards or wire transfers, and never ask you to deliver cash or cards to a physical location.

The Judicial Branch of California adds that court officials and law enforcement will never ask you to buy gift cards, cryptocurrency, or use payment apps or wire transfers as part of jury service, and that court staff may call but will never ask for those things.

Federal agencies say the same. The FBI says legitimate arrest warrants are not emailed or texted. They are served in person by a law enforcement officer or court official and never include a demand for payment. And the FTC says courts never demand payment over the phone, and that no government agency will.

Stone courthouse-style steps and columns photographed from a low angle under an overcast sky, with no signs or inscriptions. — Illustrative scene created with AI: a real court contacts jurors by mail and handles a missed summons through its own clerk and judge, not through a phone payment.

What actually happens if you miss jury duty

If you truly miss a summons, the court contacts you by mail and, if needed, asks you to come before a judge. There is no phone fine and no deputy collecting money.

For federal courts, the rule is in 28 U.S.C. 1866(g). A person summoned who fails to appear may be ordered by the district court to appear and show cause, meaning explain the reason. Only a person who fails to show good cause may be fined up to $1,000, jailed for up to three days, ordered to do community service, or a combination of these. That decision is made by a judge, after a hearing, not by a caller.

State courts have their own rules. Utah describes its process step by step: if you fail to appear, the court mails you a failure to appear notice, and if you do not respond, it may mail you a summons to appear before a judge for an “order to show cause” hearing. Other states differ in details, so the court that sent the summons is the only reliable source for yours.

If you think you really did miss jury service, the fix is the same as checking a scam: call the jury office of the court yourself.

How to check with the court yourself

Hang up, find the court’s contact information on your own, and ask the jury office whether there is any issue with your jury service. It usually takes a few minutes and settles the question.

End the call or ignore the message. Do not call back any number the caller gave, and do not open any link or website they sent. The FTC’s advice is to look up the court’s real website or call the court at a number you know is correct.
Look for any real summons you received. A real summons usually arrives by mail and names the court, the dates and the jury office’s contact information.
Find the court on your own. For a federal court, use the federal judiciary’s list of court websites and contact the Clerk of Court’s office for your district, which is who the federal judiciary says to notify about a scam call. For a state or county court, go to the official website of your state courts or county court and open its jury page, or use the phone number printed on a real summons.
Ask a direct question. Give your name and ask whether you were summoned, whether you missed a date, and whether any warrant or fine exists. The court can see its own records.
Tell the court about the call. Courts use these reports to warn the public.

If you already paid or gave out personal details

Start with the company that handled the payment, since it is the only one that may still be able to stop it. After that, protect the personal details you gave and file the reports.

Gift cards. Call the number on the back of the card, say a scammer got the card number and PIN, and ask for a refund. Keep the card and the receipt. The details are in what to do after a gift card scam.
Payment app, bank transfer or card. Report it to the app or your bank immediately and ask them to reverse the payment, following the FTC’s guide for each payment method.
Crypto kiosk or crypto transfer. Contact the kiosk operator or exchange right away and report it as fraud. The FTC notes that cryptocurrency payments do not have the same legal protections as cards, so recovery is harder.
Social Security number or date of birth entered on a website. Go to IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan and consider a credit freeze.

If they call again saying you owe more, or offering to return your money for a fee, that is the same scam continuing. Nothing you paid obliges you to keep talking to them.

When the person who got the call is an older parent, a neighbor or a relative, it can help to sit with them while making these calls. Elder financial abuse lists who else can help, including Adult Protective Services.

Where to report a jury duty scam

Report it to your local police department’s fraud unit, to the court’s jury office and to the FTC. If money moved online or by crypto, also report it to the FBI.

Local police and the court. California’s courts ask people who get these calls to contact the fraud unit of the local police and the jury office of the local court.
Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, recommended by the FTC and the federal judiciary.
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, which the FBI recommends for anyone who believes they were a victim of a jury duty scam.

Pretending to be a federal officer is itself a crime. Under 18 U.S.C. 912, anyone who falsely pretends to be an officer or employee of the United States and demands or obtains money in that role can be fined or imprisoned for up to three years. The federal judiciary says it takes these offenses seriously, and your report is part of how cases are built.

Callers who pose as other agencies use the same script, described in how impostor scams work, and how to report a scam covers the order of reports when money was lost.

Jury duty scam FAQ

Is there a scam saying you missed jury duty?

Yes. Callers pretend to be deputies, U.S. Marshals or court officers, say you missed jury duty and have a warrant, and demand a fine by payment app, crypto, gift card or wire. The FTC, the FBI and courts in many states have warned about it. Courts do not collect fines over the phone.

How can I tell if a jury summons is real?

A real summons usually comes by mail from the court and names the court, the dates and the jury office. Check it by finding the court’s contact details on your own, through the federal judiciary’s list of court websites at uscourts.gov or your state court’s official website, and asking the jury office. Never use a number or link given by a caller.

Can a federal jury summons come by email?

The federal judiciary says most contact with prospective jurors is through the U.S. mail, and that any real phone or email contact will not ask for sensitive information. Some courts do use email for parts of the process, so an email alone does not prove a scam. A request for your Social Security number, a payment or a click on an unknown link does.

What happens if I really missed jury duty?

The court contacts you, usually by mail. In federal court, under 28 U.S.C. 1866(g), a judge may order you to appear and explain why, and only a person who fails to show good cause may be fined up to $1,000, jailed up to three days or ordered to do community service. State rules vary. Call the court’s jury office yourself to sort it out.

Someone called saying I missed a court date and have a warrant. Is it a scam?

Very likely. The FBI says legitimate arrest warrants are not emailed or texted and never include a demand for payment. Hang up and call the court or the sheriff’s office using a number you look up yourself to ask whether anything is pending.