Pay up because you missed jury duty? That’s a scam

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Hawaii State Judiciary is alerting residents about a new scam emerging where those targeted are told to pay thousands of dollars for failing to show up for jury duty.

It recently happened to Makiki resident and senior citizen Paul Fox.

He said a man contacted him saying he’s with law enforcement. The caller then told him that he must pay $90,000 to resolve an outstanding bench warrant for not reporting to jury duty.

Fox said it first sounded legitimate, but contacted police after noticing too many red flags.

“They asked for a charge card as a form of ID, and I said, ‘Well that’s the first time I’ve ever heard of anybody accepting a charge card as an ID,’” he said.

“For not showing up for jury duty, that’s a $90,000 bench warrant? I thought murderers get less of a bench warrant than that.”

The Judiciary said it will never call or email to inform of an outstanding warrant or summons.

If you receive a call or email seeking information, hang up or delete the message immediately.