Scams target all people, even attorneys! I recently received an e-mail with a subject line “Notice to appear in Court #00582064”. The return address was “State Court”. The body of the email was as follows:
Notice to Appear,
You have to appear in the Court on the July 01.
You are kindly asked to prepare and bring the documents relating to the case to Court on the specified date.
Note: The case may be heard by the judge in your absence if you do not come.
The Court Notice is attached to this email.
Regards,
Maurice Pruitt,
District Clerk.
There are several items in this e-mail which are red flags. First, there are subtle grammatical errors. Second, the “Case Number” is not in the form of any case number for State or Federal Court. Third, our court clerks here are not “District Clerk”. Lastly, and most importantly, any notices from a Court are NEVER served by e-mail. There was a .zip file attached, which probably contained some malware of some type.
Never click on a link or an attachment in an e-mail from an unknown source. If any debt collector contacts you by e-mail and claims you have been sued or have to appear in court, be wary. Contact the courts in your county, the local police or Sheriff, and they will be able to confirm to you if the “case number” is a real one or fake.