Scammers targeting Grant and Harney County residents
By Mindy McKerrall on Thursday, January 29th, 2026 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
GRANT AND HARNEY COUNTIES (Released from the Oregon Judicial Department)-Scammers have been targeting Grant and Harney County residents this week, emailing them fake letters that claim they owe money because they missed jury duty.
The Grant and Harney County Circuit Courts have received reports from people who were emailed a fake letter that appeared to be on court letterhead and signed by a judge. Related scams across the state have included phone calls or texts with similar claims that people owe money or could be arrested due to missing jury duty.
Oregon’s state courts will NEVER:
- Threaten you or demand money in relation to jury service.
- Require you to pay money to respond to a jury summons or to complete your online questionnaire.
- Require you to provide sensitive information over the phone, email, or text.
Oregon state courts may text you with jury notices and reminders. However, these texts will not request personal information, make threats, or demand money.
How to Protect Yourself
If you get a call or other message that demands information or money:
- Do not provide the information or payment they ask for.
- Do not reply directly to the text or email, click on any links, or open any attachments. Scammers often make the messages look like they are coming from a real court or police agency. The messages are fake.
- If the website is not an official Oregon Judicial Department website, do not click on it or use it. Our official webpages have “courts.oregon.gov” in the web address.
- Hang up the phone and do not engage with the caller.
- Reach out directly to the court or law enforcement agency to see if the call was real. Contact information for Oregon’s state courts
- Report the contact to the court. They can let other people know about the scam.
- Report scams and suspicious communications to the Federal Trade Commission.
Learn More About Court-Related Scams
Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) Court-Related Scams Webpage
OJD Video on Court-Related Scams
