New telephone scam has surfaced, Maryland Judiciary warns

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Maryland Judiciary is warning the public about a new telephone scam that uses the threat of wage garnishment in order extort money from potential victims.

The new scam has been reported in Prince George’s County. The scam involves a caller threatening to garnish wages for “evading service.” In at least one case the call came from a California area code. The caller “confirmed” the potential victim’s identity by stating their complete social security number, banking information, date of birth and address. When the potential victim asked how the caller had gotten the information, the caller stated “it is on the summons we are going to serve you.”

This call is a scam. The Maryland Judiciary does not have a “service processing center.” Anyone receiving such a call should hang up immediately. Anyone receiving a message claiming the above should not respond. The Maryland Judiciary has notified the Offices of the Prince George’s County Sheriff about this scam. People affected by this or other scams may also contact the Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Hotline, 410-528-8662 or toll free 888-743-0023, as well as local law enforcement.

Courts do not call or email people to obtain payments or personal information. Courts do not request credit card or PayPal payments by email or telephone. As a general reminder, do not provide any personal information, credit card or bank information to a caller or in response to an e-mail claiming to be from a court. If you have received a call or email about a court case or a warrant for arrest, contact the District Court or Circuit Court in your jurisdiction. Contact information for each court is available on the Maryland Judiciary website’s courts directory.

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