Callers pretend to be working for the court and ask to verify your information.

A telephone scam has started to spread into the Santa Clarita area, so be careful when prompted to give your personal information over the phone.

The callers pretend to be an officer of the court, stating that there’s a warrant out for your arrest for failing to report for jury duty. When you say that you never got a notice for jury duty, they then ask for personal information for "verification purposes". They’ll ask for your birth date, social security number and often a credit card number.

If you receive one of these phone calls, HANG UP!

According to the FBI, "It seems like a very simple scam," the agent adds. The trick is putting people on the defensive, then reeling them back in with the promise of a clean slate. "It’s kind of ingenious. It’s social engineering."

Always be wary when asked to give out personal information over the phone, unless you initiated the phone call yourself. There are many similar scams out there.

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