Ride the Lightning

Spam Phone Calls From (NOT) A Virginia Court

October 24, 2019

As Virginia Lawyers Weekly (sub. req.) reported recently, an alert from the Office of Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia warns the public about a telephone scam that spoofs the name and telephone number of a Virginia court on caller ID.

The alert says in part:

Callers claim to be representatives of a Virginia court, inquiring about the location of individuals, or demanding monies or personal information such as social security numbers or credit card numbers.

Unless you have contacted the court to make a payment and requested that someone return the call, court personnel will not initiate a call with you to collect payments. Please be advised that Virginia courts never request credit card information or personal identifiers, such as social security numbers, by telephone.

Credit card payments should only be made in a court clerk's office or through secure online applications, such as the Virginia Judiciary Online Payment System or the General District Online Case Information System, which are available on Virginia's Judicial System website.

Virginia courts do not call private citizens to threaten or demand money. The public is cautioned to never give out personal information to unknown callers. If you receive a call about a court matter and are uncertain about its legitimacy, use the general contact information for all courts, which can be found on the judicial system website, to contact the court directly.

If you are contacted by these spammers/criminals, my advice is to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

The actual alert suggests contacting the Federal Trade Commission (not usually helpful) or, if you've been victimized, to contact local law enforcement (which we have rarely found useful). The IC3 is the first recommendation of most experts.

Be safe (and skeptical) out there!

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225|Fairfax, VA 22030
Email: Phone: 703-359-0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com
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