Hailey Heseltine
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The Jefferson County Clerk of Courts has announced that a scam targeting local residents has been going around lately. If you receive a text message that seems to be from the Jefferson County Courthouse, look out — it's fraudulent.
The scammers send a text message to your phone, which claims to be a notification from the Jefferson County Courthouse. Several locals have reported receiving such messages from the scammers, which notified them of supposed court dates or scheduled appearances, particularly pertaining to supposed traffic violations. If you receive such a text message, it is fraudulent and designed to steal your information. Do not interact with the message in any way, such as by clicking on any sent links, responding, scanning QR codes or providing your information. Simply delete the message and report it as spam, if your phone offers that feature. The Jefferson County Clerk of Courts has clarified that the Jefferson County Courthouse does not issue text message notifications at this time, so if you receive any message that appears to be from them, it is not.
Scammers will often use techniques designed to make you panic and react rashly. They may threaten you with penalties, imprisonment or other drastic measures if you do not follow the instructions in the scam. Ignore the threats. They are empty words engineered to trick you into giving up sensitive personal information. Ignore, delete, report and move on.
If you truly have questions or concerns about upcoming dates or scheduled appearances, you can always reach out to the Jefferson County Courthouse by calling 850-342-0218.