Don’t Fall for Jury Duty Scam

The phone rings, you pick it up, and the caller identifies himself as an officer of the court. He says you failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant is out for your arrest. You say you never received a notice. To clear it up, the caller says he’ll need some information for “verification purposes”-your birth date, social security number, maybe even a credit card number.

This is when you should hang up the phone. It’s a scam.

Jury scams have been around for years, but have seen a resurgence in recent months. Communities in more than a dozen states have issued public warnings about cold calls from people claiming to be court officials seeking personal information. As a rule, court officers never ask for confidential information over the phone; they generally correspond with prospective jurors via mail.

The scam’s bold simplicity may be what makes it so effective. Facing the unexpected threat of arrest, victims are caught off guard and may be quick to part with some information to defuse the situation.

“They get you scared first,” says a special agent in the Minneapolis field office who has heard the complaints. “They get people saying, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m not a criminal. What’s going on?’” That’s when the scammer dangles a solution-a fine, payable by credit card, that will clear up the problem.

With enough information, scammers can assume your identity and empty your bank accounts. “It seems like a very simple scam,” the agent adds. The trick is putting people on the defensive, then reeling them back in with the promise of a clean slate. “It’s kind of ingenious. It’s social engineering.”

In recent months, communities in Florida, New York, Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, Oregon, California, Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Hampshire reported scams or posted warnings or press releases on their local websites. In August, the federal court system issued a warning on the scam and urged people to call their local District Court office if they receive suspicious calls. In September, the FBI issued a press release about jury scams and suggested victims also contact their local FBI field office.

In March, USA.gov, the federal government’s information website, posted details about jury scams in their Frequently Asked Questions area. The site reported scores of queries on the subject from website visitors and callers seeking information.

The jury scam is a simple variation of the identity-theft ploys that have proliferated in recent years as personal information and good credit have become thieves’ preferred prey, particularly on the Internet. Scammers might tap your information to make a purchase on your credit card, but could just as easily sell your information to the highest bidder on the Internet’s black market.

Protecting yourself is the key: Never give out personal information when you receive an unsolicited phone call.

(Original link)

Even the Homeless Don’t Like Pizza Hut?

OK, so I am pretty sure that they like Pizza Hut – but they don’t like it.

So during my lunch break I got some pizza hut. I think it was a #2, so it was a pepperoni pizza and bread sticks. I went outside to eat since it was nice outside and a homeless lady was making her rounds asking for change. Now, for the most part, and from what I could hear, people were pretty courteous. They simply said, “No, I don’t have any change. Sorry.” There was only one person that acted like they didn’t even hear the homeless. I personally think that is wrong – to ignore a human being like that. When she came to me, I politely told her that I didn’t have any change – and I didn’t. But even if I did, I still wouldn’t give them change. I know, I know… what a bastard since he won’t give them any money. But let me explain…

I have never ignored a homeless person. I’ve always politely told them that I don’t have any money for them. I’ve even said “hi” to them when they were just sitting there. There simply, in my mind, no reason to act as if they don’t exist. I used to give them money if I had it, but not anymore. And here is why. I had a friend that knew where some homeless people lived. He decided that he wanted to befriend them. Ya know, be their friend when everyone else ignored them. So I joined this friend and decided that I too was going to be their friend. When I went to go see them, they instantly got all crazy and told me that they were going to kill me. They said that the “pigs” were out to get them and that I was a nark here to spy on them. They thought that it would be easier to just kill me and eliminate a possible stoolie than to accept my word – that I just wanted to be their friend. I actually feared for my life that night as they seemed fairly determined to fulfill that desire for my blood. It was a pretty crazy night and that is just a condensed version of it. Point of this story? Those homeless people wanted to be homeless. They did not want anyone except fellow homeless people in their life.

Today’s story went something like this. I ate my entire pizza but still had 2 bread sticks left over that I didn’t even touch (3 in a pack). I saw that same lady that was making her rounds earlier, so I took those break sticks over to her and offered them to her. So what did she do? She got pissed that I was offering her that. She asked me why I wouldn’t give her money, and then busted out in tears. What? So I just tossed the food away. I was pretty disturbed at this. I went out of my way, out of the kindness of my heart, to give her something she didn’t have. And she had the audacity to try to make a scene of me (crying), refuse my gift, and then got mad at me. I don’t get it.

So that is my question to all you out there… We want to get the government involved to help these people? Why is it that these people will take money from my hand in a heart beat, but refuse my food like they don’t need it? What is it that the government is going to do for these people that I didn’t? And will they take that? And if they do take what the government gives them, why will they take it from the government and not me?

With that said, I don’t have a problem with homeless in general. I was at a Wendy’s one time and a homeless lady was scraping change to get a burger. She didn’t have enough, so she walked away with nothing. I ordered her a burger and fries and went and gave it to her, and she was grateful. I have no problem with homeless people like that. People like her are probably the homeless person that will do anything to not be homeless. The rest of them – forget it, I truthfully think that they have chosen that life and want nothing to do with society other than getting their donations.

But with that said, do I need to pay more taxes that will go to these people that want to be homeless? Your thoughts?

Jury Duty

I just got back from jury duty. OK, I didn’t serve, but I was pre-selected and then eliminated. It was interesting. I was actually pretty excited about it – even though the case was supposed to last 5 weeks. Yeah… jury duty is one of those few chances that normal citizens get to participate in government aside from voting. So, I am kind of bummed. (Plus, it would have been nice to get away from work right now. LOL!)

In high school we got extra credit for going to the local, board of education, and other localized meetings. I know that most students found it to be a drag – or just a way to get extra credit for their government class. However, I actually enjoyed it. I liked feeling like I was a part of my community and that my opinion would be heard.

So, since I was not selected, I suppose I will have to wait at least 18 months (I think).

I met some cool people during our breaks too. Hopefully I will see one of them on my blog sometime since I gave them my blog addy.