Residents of the Eastern District of Tennessee continue to receive fraudulent phone calls from individuals claiming to be law enforcement officers informing the victim he or she has failed to appear for jury duty in the federal court. The scam caller threatens the victim with an arrest warrant or citation. The scam caller tells the victim that he or she can avoid arrest or other negative consequences by making a payment, which may include purchasing a pre-paid gift card and then giving the card number to the scam caller.

The scammer may sound convincing and use real information about the victim; real court addresses; and real names of law enforcement officers, court officials, and federal judges to make the scam appear more credible. Scammers may even "spoof" the phone number on caller ID so that the call falsely appears to be from a court number or the number of another government agency.

These phone calls are not from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, the U.S. Marshals Service, or other law enforcement agencies. You should not provide the caller with any personal information, credit card numbers, pre-paid card numbers, or money. 

Here are the facts:

• The court will always send a jury summons by U.S. Mail.

• The court does not ask prospective jurors to sign for their jury summons. Neither the court nor law enforcement will claim that someone signed for a jury summons or request a handwriting analysis.

• A prospective juror who disregards a jury summons will be contacted through the mail by the court clerk’s office.  

• Neither the court nor law enforcement will demand payment over the phone.

• Neither the court nor law enforcement will demand a gift card number to satisfy an obligation.

• The court does not have a kiosk to accept payments. Neither the court nor law enforcement will instruct someone to make payment at a kiosk.

If you still have concerns, you may contact the jury office at 865-329-4766.