Court / Government Impersonation

"You missed jury duty, pay now or we arrest you", is that a scam?

By Grandma Pearl · Updated June 2026 · 3-minute read

Short answer, sugar: Yes. If a caller says there is a warrant for missing jury duty and you must pay a fine right now to avoid arrest, it is a scam, every single time. Real courts do not work that way. Hang up. Here is the whole trick, and the one move that ends it.

It comes in sounding very official. A man with a calm, firm voice says he is a deputy or an officer of the court. He has a badge number. He says you failed to appear for jury duty, a judge has signed a warrant, and unless you pay a fine today, deputies will come to your door. Your stomach drops. That fear is exactly the point, dear.

The caller ID may even show your real county court or sheriff. Do not let that fool you. A number on your screen can be faked in seconds (we covered that trick on its own porch swing).

Why this one frightens good people

It stacks three pressures at once: authority (the law), fear (arrest), and urgency (pay today). Honest, rule-following folks are the most rattled by it, because the thought of having done something wrong is unbearable. So they rush to "fix" it before they stop to think. The scammer is counting on you not pausing.

The tell: no court and no police force will ever call to collect a fine by gift card, wire transfer, payment app, or cryptocurrency. The moment the "officer" names one of those, the mask is off. It is a crook, not a court.

Pearl's one rule for "official" threats

Anyone who threatens arrest and wants gift cards, a wire, or an app payment to make it disappear is a scammer. Hang up. Then, if you are worried, call the court yourself using a number you looked up, never a number or a callback they gave you.

To check on real jury duty: open a fresh browser window, type your county court's official website by hand, and call the clerk's office listed there. A real summons also arrives by mail with instructions. You are always allowed to hang up and verify. An honest official will never mind.

What to do on the call

  1. Do not pay, and do not confirm any personal details. Not your Social Security number, not your date of birth.
  2. Hang up. You do not owe a scammer your time or your manners.
  3. Look up the court yourself and verify, only if you genuinely want peace of mind. The answer will almost always be that there is no warrant.
  4. Report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, the FBI at ic3.gov, and your local police non-emergency line.

What if I already paid?

Be gentle with yourself, honey. This scam leans on fear, and fear makes anyone move fast. If you paid by gift card, call that card's company right away and report it. If you wired money or used an app, call your bank. Then report it at the links above. The sooner you act, the better your odds.

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More from the porch: "Your Social Security number is suspended", is it a scam? The caller ID showed a real agency, can that be faked?

Sources: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, jury-scam alerts (uscourts.gov); Federal Trade Commission, ReportFraud.ftc.gov; FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov). Grandma Pearl is an AI character (always labeled). Educational content only, not financial or legal advice.