Deepak Gupta

Government and authority impersonation · Also called missed jury duty scam, fake warrant call, preemptive bail scam

Jury duty and arrest warrant scam

A jury duty scam is a call or message from someone posing as a court officer, sheriff, or marshal who says you missed jury duty or a court date and now face an arrest warrant. They demand an immediate fine or bail payment by gift card, payment app, cryptocurrency, or cash to avoid arrest.

How it works

The scammer calls or texts, often with a spoofed number and the names of real court officials or officers.
They say the victim missed jury service or a court date and a warrant has been issued.
They offer to settle the matter immediately with a fine or bail payment, and may keep the victim on the phone.
Payment is demanded through gift cards, payment apps, cryptocurrency, a crypto kiosk, or a cash handover.

Red flags

A caller says you will be arrested unless you pay a fine for missing jury duty.
You are told to pay by gift card, payment app, cryptocurrency, or cash.
The caller insists you stay on the phone while you get the money.
You never received a written jury summons by post.

If you are targeted

Stop contact: hang up and do not pay anything.
Call the court's clerk using the number on the court's official website to check whether anything is outstanding.
If you already paid, contact your bank, payment app, or the gift card company straight away.
Report it. Our Report a scam page lists where to report in your country, such as ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US.

Where to report, by country

Prevention

For individuals

Know that courts send jury summonses by post and will not demand payment by phone, email, gift card, or cryptocurrency.
Do not trust caller ID or the use of real officials' names.
Look up the court's number yourself before discussing any court matter.

By the numbers

Figures are for the reporting category this scam falls under, not this scam alone.

Government impersonation losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025	$797.9M	US, 2025, FBI IC3
Government impersonator losses reported to the FTC in 2025 (about this amount)	$920M	US, 2025, FTC

Real cases

No documented case in the atlas yet. New cases are added as they are sourced.

Delivered through: Voice phishing (vishing), SMS phishing (smishing)

How official datasets classify it

FBI IC3: Government Impersonation
FTC: Government Imposters
Scamwatch: Threat scams

Questions

Will I be arrested for missing jury duty over the phone?: No. US federal courts say they will never demand payment over the phone or by gift card, payment app, or cryptocurrency, and a request to pay to avoid arrest is fraudulent.
How do courts really contact jurors?: Courts send a jury summons by post. If there is a problem, the clerk's office contacts you in writing, and any court order is signed by a judge.