Jury Duty Email Scam: Red Flags and What to Do Next

If you got an email saying you missed jury duty, owe a fine, or need to confirm personal details to avoid arrest, it is almost certainly a jury duty email scam. Legitimate courts do not send initial jury summons by email, text, or phone call. Real summons arrive by U.S. mail, and any electronic message demanding your Social Security number, a payment, or an urgent click is a fraud attempt you should report rather than answer.

How a Real Jury Summons Reaches You

Under federal law, jury summons are delivered either by personal service through a U.S. Marshal or by registered, certified, or first-class mail to your home or business address.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1866 – Selection and Summoning of Jury Panels If the mailing doesn’t reach you, the clerk sends the summons to the U.S. Marshal for hand delivery.2U.S. Marshals Service. Juror Summons State and local courts follow the same pattern, with paper as the primary delivery method.

A real summons shows the court’s official name and seal, a reporting date and location, a juror identification number, and contact information for the clerk’s office. It will not ask you to click a link, reply with your Social Security number, or call an unfamiliar phone number to pay anything.

Courts do use some digital tools, but only after the paper summons. The federal eJuror system lets you complete your qualification questionnaire, request a deferral, or update your information online using instructions printed on the mailed summons you already received.3United States Courts. Summoned for Federal Jury Service Some local courts offer opt-in text reminders, but only for jurors who signed up after being summoned. If you never got a paper notice and the first thing you see is an email or text, that is your answer.

Red Flags in the Email Itself

Scammers now target people through email, text, and phone calls, usually by threatening prosecution for a jury date you supposedly missed.4United States Courts. Juror Scams Panic is the point. These are the signs that the message in your inbox is not from a court:

  • It asks for personal data. Court officials never request your Social Security number, bank account, or credit card by email or phone.4United States Courts. Juror Scams
  • It demands payment through gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, payment apps, or cash. Real courts do not collect fines that way.5Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Scammers Are Using Fake Websites in a Twist on Jury Duty Scams
  • It threatens immediate arrest. A real court follows a formal process starting with a written order before anyone is penalized for missing service.
  • It uses generic greetings like “Dear Citizen,” skips your juror ID number, or names a court that doesn’t exist in your area.
  • It links to a website that isn’t a .gov or .uscourts.gov address. A newer version of this scam sends victims to fake court sites that mimic the real ones and harvest Social Security numbers or payment information.
  • The sender address, grammar, or formatting looks off, though polished versions do exist.

The most common impersonations are the U.S. Marshals Service, county sheriff’s departments, and federal court clerks.6Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI, U.S. Marshals Warning Public of Jury Duty Phone Scam Those titles are chosen because they sound frightening. Real marshals serve summons in person or by mail; they do not cold-call or email people to collect money.

What to Do With a Suspicious Message

Don’t reply, don’t click any links, don’t open attachments, and don’t call any phone number listed in the message. If it’s a call, hang up. Then:

  • Verify with the court directly. Look up the clerk’s office number through the court’s official website or a government directory, not through anything in the suspicious message, and ask whether you have a pending summons.4United States Courts. Juror Scams
  • Report it to the FBI through the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.7Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Home Page – Internet Crime Complaint Center
  • Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.5Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Scammers Are Using Fake Websites in a Twist on Jury Duty Scams
  • Tell your local police. A report helps law enforcement track patterns in your area.

If You Already Gave the Scammer Information

If you shared your Social Security number, financial details, or other sensitive data before you realized the email was fake, move quickly. Identity theft damage compounds with time.

  • Place a credit freeze with all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). A freeze blocks new accounts from being opened in your name and can be submitted online, by phone, or by mail.8USAGov. How to Place or Lift a Security Freeze on Your Credit Report
  • Place a free, one-year fraud alert by contacting any one of the three bureaus; that bureau must notify the other two.9Federal Trade Commission: IdentityTheft.gov. Identity Theft Recovery Steps
  • Create an Identity Theft Report at IdentityTheft.gov to get a personalized recovery plan.9Federal Trade Commission: IdentityTheft.gov. Identity Theft Recovery Steps
  • Pull free credit reports from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com and look for accounts or inquiries you don’t recognize.
  • Create an account at socialsecurity.gov/myaccount to check whether your number has been used for employment, and contact your local Social Security office if something is wrong.

A freeze is stronger than an alert on its own. The freeze blocks new account openings outright; a fraud alert only requires lenders to verify your identity first. Both are free, and you can lift either when you need credit yourself.

Don’t Ignore a Real Paper Summons

Treating every jury notice as fake creates its own risk. If a legitimate paper summons arrives and you don’t respond, federal courts will first order you to appear and explain. Ignoring that order, without a good reason, can bring a fine of up to $1,000, up to three days in jail, community service, or a combination.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1864 – Drawing of Names From the Master Jury Wheel State penalties vary. If a paper summons comes and the date doesn’t work, call the clerk’s office listed on the summons and ask about a deferral. The rule is simple: paper in the mail is real, surprise email in your inbox is not.