Mort Lester is in the real estate business and is at home for lunch when the phone rings. The caller identifies himself as Wilbur Perry, a "jury coordinator" for the county courts.

The caller tells Mort he has a warrant for his arrest for failing to show up for jury duty as ordered by the judge. Mort is upset and tells the jury guy he never got a notice for jury duty. This is true.

The jury guy, sounding very officious, tells Mort, "I’ll have our investigators look into your notification. I’ll need your Social Security number and date of birth."

That seems reasonable to Mort, so he gives up the required information to the "jury coordinator."

What’s really happening here?

First of all, Wilbur Perry is a fictitious name. The caller is certainly not a jury coordinator or any other kind of county employee. Having talked Mort into giving up his Social Security number and date of birth, the caller is now in a position to steal Mort’s identity.

This thief can now access Mort’s financial accounts. He can open new accounts and actually become Mort Lester.

The "jury duty" scam is the newest method of stealing identity. It’s been done often in more than a dozen states. It’s been so successful that the scam is moving rapidly across the country.

Identity theft is an insidious modern crime. It takes some victims years to dig out from under the quagmire of misrepresented financial transactions.

Start your new year right by not feeding the scam artists. Never, ever give your Social Security number, date of birth, or other personal data on the telephone. No bank or government agency I’m aware of will call and ask for this information on the telephone. If you call your bank or a government agency, they may ask for that information — but they will not call you!

That said, I wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and be of good cheer. — Bob Ford