Authorities warn of fraud scheme involving false court summonses in Puerto Rico
The Administrative Director of the Courts warned of a new fraud method that uses forged court summonses to deceive citizens.
Authorities warn of fraud scheme involving false court summonses in Puerto Rico
The Office of Court Administration issued a public warning on Wednesday after detecting a new deception tactic targeting Island residents. Sigfrido Steidel Figueroa, who heads the agency, explained that criminals are distributing false judicial notifications via mobile messaging and email.
The scheme consists of sending communications that include a malicious hyperlink. Upon opening it, the victim sees a purported order to appear before a court for allegedly owed traffic violations, with a specific date to attend.
These intimidating messages include warnings of arrest, wage garnishment and other legal penalties, according to an institutional bulletin.
To make the scam credible, the perpetrators cite non-existent case files and attribute names of judicial system officials, security officers or court employees.
The judicial branch emphasised that authentic proceedings never require payments by telephone or through unauthorised electronic channels. They also do not request private data through those routes.
Residents were advised to distrust any notice of this type, refrain from responding and report it to the appropriate authorities.
Source: Primera Hora
Source: Google News PR — Crime