CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OH —The Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs urges residents to ignore all calls about missed jury duty as these are scam calls.

Cuyahoga County residents are reporting higher than usual numbers of scam calls from individuals posing as deputies who claim the resident has missed court appearances.

In a new twist in these scams, rather than immediately asking for fines, some scammers direct people to official-looking websites where they must enter personal information to learn the amount of the fine.

Many residents who visited the scam sites report they had entered their Social Security numbers, dates of birth and photos of their drivers’ licenses before being asked to pay up to $10,000 in “fines.”

Consumer Affairs reminds residents:

• Governments use “.gov” websites. County, federal and court websites do not use other domains, such as .org or .com, which are available to anyone.
• All calls, texts and emails about missed court appearances are scams. Courts send jury notices by U.S. mail, and no signature is required for delivery.
• Law enforcement officers never call people about missed court appearances or to request signature comparisons or fines.
• Never use callback numbers provided in vague messages about legal issues. They lead to scammers.

Report scams to the Cuyahoga County Scam Squad by calling 216-443-7226 or through cuyahogacounty.gov/scamsquad.