Jury Scam

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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Jury duty is a necessary, if not always pleasant, civic responsibility. But if you get a call about jury service from someone claiming to be an officer of the court, you should be skeptical.

According to the FBI, a jury-duty scam has duped civic-minded citizens into releasing their Social Security numbers and other information, making them the targets of yet another attempt at identity theft.

Here's how it works: You get a call from someone who claims to be a court official. You never showed up for jury duty, the "official" says, and now you're facing arrest. When you say you never received a jury notice, the self-proclaimed court officer will ask you for your personal information in order "straighten out" the situation.

In other cases, citizens are told they've been called for jury duty and simply asked for their personal information. If they don't provide it, they are threatened with fines.

If you get one of these phone calls, don't fall for it. The FBI warns that telephone calls from people claiming to be a part of the judicial system are most likely frauds. The judicial system will not ask for personal information such as Social Security numbers over the phone. Court officials will always use regular U.S. mail to contact you, not the phone or e-mail.

Report suspicious calls to your local FBI office. You can find field office numbers at www.fbi.gov.

Marshall Loeb, former editor of Fortune, Money, and The Columbia Journalism Review, writes "Your Dollars" exclusively for MarketWatch.