Superior Court warns San Diegans of phony court documents seeking money

Scammers are trying to use the San Diego Superior Court to bilk people out of money with fraudulent court orders and other fake court documents, prompting court officials to warn the public to carefully scrutinize these phony requests for cash.

Court officials said scams involving fraudulent court orders or other court documents were being sent to people as recently as this week.

One recent incident involved a fake notice of an outstanding arrest warrant that the person was told they could clear by providing a payment. Similar scams from earlier this year sought money to pay traffic court fees or fines for missing jury duty.

Superior Court officials say individuals will not be contacted by phone or through texts to resolve court issues or pay fines.

While cash can be used to pay fines and fees, court officials will not insist that payments be made in cash, as several other payment options are accepted. The court also will not request or accept payments through payment applications such as Venmo, PayPal and Zelle.

Residents were advised to carefully examine documents they receive to ensure they are authentic. Legitimate court documents will include a case number, and cases can be searched on the online court index at courtindex.sdcourt.ca.gov/CISPublic/enter.

Red flags for potential scams include calls or texts from out-of-state area codes, or documents featuring incorrect logos, suspicious formatting or misspellings.

Court officials also say that if the first document a person receives in a court case states they owe a judgment, it is likely a scam, as individuals will be provided the chance to present their side of the case before a judgment is entered.

Anyone concerned that they might have received a phony court notice or document was advised to contact the court system at the physical courthouse locations or through telephone numbers listed at sdcourt.ca.gov/sdcourt/generalinformation/contactus.