Impersonation scammers target people afraid of missing jury duty. Reports in one Florida county jumped to 44 this year from 25 in all of 2025. Experts say the "panic scam" impairs rational thought.
Impersonation scammers have a new target: people afraid of being punished for missing jury duty.
As The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, these scams have surged in the Tampa area. In just one county, authorities have gotten 44 reports of the scam so far this year, up from 25 for all of 2025.
The call works like this. A person, sometimes multiple callers, contacts someone claiming to be a law enforcement officer. They tell the victim they can avoid arrest for missing jury duty by coming up with funds, sometimes thousands of dollars, for "bail."
Police will not call to threaten arrest or demand money over a missed jury summons. Cybersecurity experts told the Journal these "panic scams" work by triggering a fight-or-flight response that blocks rational thought. A Reddit thread about the jury-duty scam includes several people describing being tricked.
"I never would have thought I would fall for this," wrote one person. Another said the scammers "basically psychologically kidnap you."
Sgt. Andrew Miller, head of the economic crimes unit in Pasco County, Florida, told the Journal that anyone unsure about who is calling should hang up and contact someone they trust. "The second that they get off the phone is the second they start thinking on their own," he said.
The incidents come amid a broader surge in imposter scams. Last year consumers filed more than 1 million scam reports with the Federal Trade Commission, reporting $3.5 billion in losses, the regulator said in May. Many of those scams involved the threat of punishment, including texts seeking payment for overdue tolls.
The PYMNTS Intelligence report "Financial Scams and Consumer Trust" found that 81% of successful scams are impersonation scams where criminals pose as trusted authorities, friendly strangers or personal contacts. The report said scammers use a mobile phone or landline in 19% of successful scams, and new artificial intelligence voice and chat technologies now make them more convincing.
"Scammers exploit trust across all communication channels, from phone calls and email to social media and online ads," the report said. "These criminals overwhelmingly rely on impersonation tactics, a threat that will only grow as AI technologies evolve."
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