NOW: Scammers target Justice Court cases.

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Court Scam

Justice Courts Maricopa County - Home Court Scam

Court-related Scams

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You're here because you or someone you know heard about or received a suspicious phone call. Or, sadly, you gave someone money and now you suspect it was a scam.

Here are the common scenarios: 

  1. Someone calling claims there is a warrant for your arrest because you failed to show up for jury duty.
  2. Someone calling claims there is a warrant for your arrest because you failed to pay a court fee, fine, or ticket.
  3. Someone calling claims you owe an outstanding balance for a court fee, fine, or ticket and if you don't pay the court will issue a warrant or arrest you.

In any of these situations, they say they can clear up the problem if you pay right away- either with a credit card, money order, gift card, or some other non-traceable form of currency.. even bitcoin! Sometimes the very bold callers will try to get your bank account and routing number.

The Reality

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Any of these things might be true. You might have a warrant. You might owe money. You might have failed to show up for a court proceeding such as a hearing or jury duty. The caller may even know your real court case number!

They might say they are with a police agency- sheriff, constable, FBI, or any other government office such as ADOT in the example to the right. No matter who they claim to be, KNOW THIS:

No legitimate office will call you unsolicited about these things and demand money over the phone. 

We may call or email under specific conditions but we will always welcome you to call back to the number listed on our official web site or on your court documents.

These scams have been around for many years. They are not new and they are not "going around again". They are always going on, but the scammers- who are often overseas- find new people to target who may be more vulnerable than others. Those over age 65 are known to be especially susceptible.

One of our clerks had an elderly couple last year come to the court to ask about it- but only after they had lost $5,000 to the person on the phone. We get calls asking about this kind of scam every day.

What to Do

Tell your friends, tell your family, tell everyone you know that if someone claiming to be from a court or law enforcement calls asking for money:

  1. Do not be intimidated. Know that a real court or law officer will let you look up the phone number yourself to call back on your own terms.
  2. Make a note of the number they're calling from.
  3. Do NOT give them any of your information.
  4. Make them give YOU any details they have and write them down.
  5. Say you'll follow up later and then hang up.
  6. Report it.

Where to Report This

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Help prevent others from being hooked! Here are the best places to report and learn about these scams: 

Read more at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office: https://maricopacountyattorney.org/401/Scams-and-Fraud.

And learn how jury duty REALLY works from our jury office.

Prior Alerts

Courts have been warning you about this for years. So have police agencies and the media. But there are always new audiences who have not heard the warnings. Here are just a few of these kinds of past alerts: