LANSING, Mich. — You see an email that looks like a court summons accusing you of “illegal software use” or some other offense. You are told to download the complaint, which is an attachment.
The Michigan Supreme Court, in an unusual move, says don’t open the attachment.
The Court’s warning says the attachment will contain malware or a computer virus in an attempt to get personal information from your computer.
“This is not how Michigan courts handle summonses or notices to appear,” said State Court Administrator John A. Hohman, Jr., in a statement sent out by the Michigan Supreme Court. Anyone who gets the email should not click on any link nor open the attachment.
A similar scam has been reported in states such as Georgia and Louisiana.
While no reports of the scam have come up in Michigan, people should know about it anyway, said Hohman. If you get an email like this, you should contact local police.
The emails could appear to come from the Court or a well-known law firm.
