Staff Reports
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana says scammers are calling individuals with cases pending before the court, posing as court staff, and requesting that the victim provide his or her Social Security number.
In no instance will a court official or other government employee contact someone and demand personal information or payment by phone or email, court personnel said.
Residents of the Southern District of Indiana who believe they have been the victim of this scam are encouraged to report the incident to the District Court Clerk’s Office at 317-229-3700 and the Federal Trade Commission at ftccomplaintassistant.gov.
Here is additional information about what to do if you are contacted by a scammer:
A court will never ask for a Social Security number, credit/debit card number, wire transfers, or bank routing numbers over the phone for any purpose.
You can authenticate a call by contacting the Clerk’s Office of the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis at (317) 229-3700 to verify that the scam call did not come from the court.
A prospective juror who disregards a summons will be contacted by the District Court Clerk’s Office by mail and may, in certain circumstances, be ordered to appear before a judge.
A fine will never be imposed until after an individual has appeared in court and been given the opportunity to explain a failure to appear.
Do not divulge personal information or financial information to unknown callers.
