Bogus phone calls and text messages are on the rise, making false claims about warrants, jury duty, and toll violations and demanding “immediate action“
Source: DE Courts
In the latest version of an ongoing scam, official looking, but bogus “Final notice” court warnings have been texted to cell phone numbers across Delaware this weekend, claiming to be from the Delaware Justice of the Peace Court. The message – that prompts users to download it — urges “immediate action” to resolve fake speeding and toll violations. The scam text also contains a QR code “to settle the unpaid balance” to avoid a license revocation and further fines.
Do not download the message, as it may contain malicious software, and do not click on or scan the QR code.
“This is not a legitimate text message,” said Justice of the Peace Court Chief Magistrate Alan Davis. “The Justice of the Peace Court does not send text messages or emails about outstanding violations. Please delete it immediately. If you have any questions about potential or outstanding violations please contact the Justice of the Peace Court’s voluntary assessment center at 302-739-6911 during normal business hours.”
It is noteworthy that the bogus text never mentions the victim by name, instead it only has a fake case number. A nearly identical scam text, using a similar format, recently targeted individuals in Maryland.
In other variations of the scam, that were used over the past six months, scammers called victims directly claiming to be representing a Delaware court, and victims were directed to deposit cash in a bitcoin ATM to resolve fictional warrants, fines or some other alleged court matter.
It is important to know that Delaware Courts NEVER demand payment in the form of gift cards, or through cash apps like Venmo or Zelle (where transactions are difficult to track once complete) or in the form of bitcoin or other internet-based e-currency.
In this earlier version of the scam, victims were contacted by phone, text or email, and told there was an outstanding warrant related to missing jury duty (or some other made-up charge) and directed to call a phone number to resolve it. Once on the phone, or sometimes in the initial contact, the scammers electronically send detailed and authentic looking documents, describing how the victim can go to an official “kiosk” (which in reality is a bitcoin ATM) to pay to resolve the issue. In this scam the criminals sometimes insist the victim remain on the phone during the entire transaction to walk them through the steps to feed money into the kiosk, which is going to an account controlled by the scammers.
In other version of this same scam, the criminals simply texted a copy of a bogus “order of arrest” and then directed the victim to a specific non-governmental address to make a cash payment.
The Delaware Judiciary wants to assure the public that these are not legitimate calls, texts and emails and that no one with our courts, jury services, Delaware State Police, or other law enforcement agencies would ever call and make such threats and demand immediate payment.
A red flag that these scams all share in common is the false urgency created through the demands for immediate payment in ways that are difficult to trace like cash, gift cards or certain electronic payments. Delaware’s courts generally notify Delawareans about their obligations by mail.
If you receive a call like this, make note of the caller’s name, claims made by the caller, and the phone number used if you have caller ID. Hang up and immediately contact your local law enforcement agency to verify the information or contact the courts during normal business hours to check any claims about alleged courts actions. Scammers can fool caller ID into displaying an incorrect number and may use the names of actual court or police officials as part of their scheme
If you have questions about jury duty, you can check to see if you have been summoned by calling Delaware Superior Court Jury Services at 302-255-0800 for New Castle County, 302-735-1901 for Kent County, and 302-855-7055 for Sussex County.
A prospective juror who has failed to report for Jury Service will be contacted by mail.
If you have a question or want to check on claims about court-imposed costs, fines, restitution or other fees, please contact the Office of State Court Collections Enforcement (OSCCE) at an in-person OSCCE office location at a courthouse or through other approved methods like state-operated payment kiosks at DMV offices. For more information visit the Office of State Court Collections Enforcement – Administrative Office of the Courts – Delaware Courts – State of Delaware website or call OSCCE at (302) 255-0339.
If you have a question or want to check on claims about an outstanding warrant, you can check for any outstanding warrants online at Delaware Criminal Justice Information System.
You can learn more about phone scams by visiting the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer advice webpage at Phone Scams Consumer Advice (ftc.gov).
