Prospective jurors are warned of scam

SANDPOINT — Prospective jurors are being warned not to fall for a spoofing scam that appears to be making the rounds.

The 1st District Court jury office in Bonner County was advised last week that a local resident was part of a spoofing scam in which the jury office message line number (208-290-4993) appeared on the caller identification of a missed call. When the person called the number, they reached reporting information for jury duty and became concerned that they had missed jury duty and panicked.

The jury office is warning residents that if they see the number appear on their caller ID, it may not actually be the jury office who is making the call. The line is used for jury reporting information and not typically for personal contact.

Those who receive suspect phone calls, are urged to call the jury office’s land line (208-265-1443) to report it. The jury office does not make threatening phone calls to residents or demand payment and personal information for noncompliance with jury service. Those who receive threatening phone calls are urged to call the Bonner County Dispatch at 208-265-5525 to report the incident to the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s Facebook page also features a video on spoofing scams and how they work.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.