The NJCCIC received an incident report about a phone scam in which threat actors alleged that the victim would be held in contempt and arrested for failing to report for jury duty unless fines were paid to the state and federal governments. The threat actors also claimed they had a copy of the victim’s signature on file from the initial acknowledgment of jury duty and that the victim would need to provide a matching signature to avoid charges.

While still on the phone, the threat actors sent a text message that spoofed a legitimate police department, stating that the victim was under a gag order and required to remain on the phone until the transactions were complete. This tactic is intended to prevent a potential victim from reaching out to their support system and realizing that a scam is underway. Threat actors may request the purchase of large numbers of gift cards, cash transfers through services like Western Union, or deposits into bitcoin kiosks. If the scam is successful, they may request additional funds.

Recommendations

• Confirm requests via contact information obtained from verified and official sources.
• Review the Don’t Take the Bait! Phishing and Other Social Engineering Attacks NJCCIC product for more information on common phishing and social engineering attacks.
• Report malicious cyber activity to the NJCCIC, your local police department, and the FBI’s IC3.