Your daily reminder to be wary of, well, everyone. From the Humboldt County Superior Court:

 

Humboldt County Superior Court has recently received several calls from the public notifying us that they have received calls from persons identifying themselves as court employees and demanding callers have actually referenced Social Security numbers and other accurate personal information.

Please be advised that Court staff mails all correspondence to the public, which includes case information, upcoming court dates, including fine information, and do not call parties and request payments over the phone, Social Security numbers, or other personal information. The Clerk’s Office phone number is: (707) 445-7256 and is open to the public from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.. If you have any questions or concerns related to your case, please contact them during business hours.

Email and phone scams are widespread throughout the United States, several of which falsely claim that the intended victims have court cases or other legal issues pending, and must pay fines, and/or provide personal information in order to avoid additional fines/fees. Anyone who receives a phone call or email from someone demanding payment for a court fine or warrant should report it immediately to your local law enforcement agency. Please see helpful information on the Federal Trade Commission’s website related to phone scams at: consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0076-phone-scams.

If the caller also references your Social Security number, please refer to the Social Security’s Identity Theft publication at: ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10064.pdf or contact your local Social Security office and report it.