Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney Bubba Bramlett is warning local citizens of a recent telephone scam. Fraudulent callers inform the victims that they are with their local police, sheriff’s department, district attorney’s office, or the county courts. The caller tells them that they have missed a jury duty summons and therefore could be found in contempt of court. The caller may even claim that a warrant has been used for their arrest.

The caller then instructs the victim to send money to avoid arrest. The victim is asked to provide their bank account information or send money via cash app, PayPal, Venmo, or a wire transfer. In other cases, the scammer may trick the victim into providing more sensitive personal information like their date of birth, Social Security number, or credit or debit card numbers.

“Please be aware that even though these calls appear to be from a local police or sheriff departments phone number, a law officer or judge will never demand payment from a public member, nor would an officer come to collect money from you,” stated Bramlett. “These scammers are using real names, and it appears they have all your correct information, but please don’t fall victim.”

Courts almost exclusively contact individuals about jury duty or missed jury duty by postal mail. NOT by phone or email. In addition, actual court-related phone calls are only made during regular business hours. So please do not fall victim to this phone scam or any other scam in which someone you do not know asks for personal information or banking information.

If you feel you have fallen victim to this missed jury duty scam or any other telephone scam, please report the incident to 601.825.1472.