A New Scam Is Rising: It's About Jury Duty

It's called the "jury duty scam," and the ruse is increasing in frequency. The Wall Street Journal explains through the ordeals of victims in Florida. Essentially, very convincing scammers posing as law enforcement accuse the victim of missing jury duty and threaten arrest unless "bail" is paid immediately in cash or cryptocurrency. In one case, 38-year-old Kimberly Fudge was kept on the phone for nearly 10 hours by at least five scammers who knew her Social Security number, bank balance, and even details about her parents' law-enforcement careers. They claimed she'd skipped jury duty, texted her a fake warrant, invoked a supposed gag order to isolate her, tracked her phone activity—likely via spyware on a refurbished device—and marched her through multiple cash deposits.

By the time it was over, Fudge had given them $25,000. In the Tampa area, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office says it has gotten 44 complaints about this particular scam so far this year, nearly double the total from last year. Authorities stress a red flag: Real courts and sheriff's offices do not call people to demand payment or threaten arrest over missed jury duty. The ploy is also only one slice of a much larger problem—the FTC says Americans lost $3.5 billion to impostor scams in 2025, almost triple 2020's total. Read the full story.