Jury duty or missed-court warrant call
Scammers call and claim you missed jury duty or a court date and that a warrant is out for your arrest unless you pay right away. Real courts and law enforcement will not demand payment over the phone by gift card, crypto, or a courier.
How it works
You get an unexpected call, often from a number that looks local or official. The caller says you failed to appear for jury duty or missed a court date. They threaten a fine, arrest, or a warrant unless you pay immediately. They may tell you to stay on the line, keep the call secret, and pay with prepaid cards, a wire, cryptocurrency, or cash at a crypto kiosk. From January 2025 through July 2026, the FBI's IC3 received 6,833 complaints about this type of scam, with losses totaling nearly $36 million.
Red flags
- The caller demands immediate payment to stop an arrest or warrant.
- They want payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire, courier, or a crypto kiosk.
- They tell you not to talk to family, your bank, or local police.
- They refuse to let you hang up and check the claim yourself.
What to do
- Hang up. Do not pay, and do not share personal information.
- If you are unsure, call the courthouse or your local law enforcement using a number you look up yourself.
- Report the call at ic3.gov and reportfraud.ftc.gov.
- If you already paid, contact your bank or the gift-card issuer right away and file a local police report.
Where to report it
- reportfraud.ftc.gov — the FTC's report form.
- ic3.gov — the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.