Federal court personnel don’t ask for Social Security, credit card numbers by phone

Federal court personnel don’t ask for Social Security, credit card numbers by phone

CLEVELAND

The federal district court in northern Ohio is warning the public about telephone scams, in which callers falsely claim they represent the federal jury office, threaten fines for shirking jury service, and ask for Social Security and credit card numbers and other sensitive information that could be used in identity theft and fraud. Most communication between federal court officials and potential jurors is through the U.S. mail; and real federal court personnel don’t ask for Social Security and credit card numbers by telephone, according to Geri M. Smith, clerk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, which has courtrooms in Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown and Toledo.