Loudoun Clerk of the Circuit Court Gary M. Clemens cautions Loudoun residents to be aware of a recent jury duty scam. The fraudulent activity involves individuals claiming to work for the courts or law enforcement who call residents and tell them they failed to report for jury duty and to avoid any penalty from the Circuit Court, the residents can pay a fine over the phone. In some cases, they offer the victims a chance to buy a gift card and then call them back for the gift card information.
Clemens reminds residents that currently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no jury trials are being conducted. Jury trials are not scheduled to begin again until at least January 2021.
Also, Clemens says that no employees from the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court would ever call Loudoun residents to tell them they failed to report for jury duty and can pay a fine over the telephone. The Clerk’s Office sends an official, written notice to someone who does not appear for jury duty and the notice provides instructions on what actions those who neglect to report for jury duty must take.
“Any Loudoun resident who receives a call demanding payment over the phone for failing to report for jury duty should not provide any payment,” Clemens said. He encourages Loudoun residents to write down the phone number that appears on caller ID, if possible, and contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021 or file a report online at sheriff.loudoun.gov/reportonline.
Clemens encourages all residents to be aware of potential fraud scams and seek verification of the information with the appropriate sources before making any payments online or by phone.
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