North Carolina Judicial Branch partners with retailers to combat court-related scams

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — The North Carolina Judicial Branch is partnering with retailers across the state to help consumers recognize and avoid court-related scams.

The campaign focuses on scams in which criminals pose as court officials or law enforcement officers and demand immediate payment for court costs, bail, or penalties tied to missing jury duty.

Officials say the court system will never demand payment through gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers or peer-to-peer payment apps.

Ryan Boyce, director of the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, said the campaign is designed to put warning signs in front of consumers at the point of sale, before they send money to a scammer.

“So we’ve created signage and other messaging materials that the retails merchants and other groups can push out, that way if, maybe you’re being pulled in by a scam, when you go to the gift card kiosk in say a Walgreen’s or CVS, you’ll see a sign right there that’ll trigger in your mind, ‘Okay, maybe this isn’t on the up and up,’ and not only does it trigger you to the point that letting you know it could be a scam, it also tells you where to go to determine if this information is correct.”

Boyce said the signs will also include links to the court system’s online portal, giving people a way to check and verify whether the information they received is legitimate.

The goal, officials say, is to stop potential victims before they make a payment and give consumers a clear way to confirm whether a court-related demand is real.