SCAM ALERT: Official-looking, ‘sophisticated’ … and fake

| Safety | West Seattle news

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office sent this warning about a scam that looks official enough to fool people:

Recently people have been getting scam notices for King County District Court hearings that seem official and are very sophisticated.

(mock notice link removed) It is NOT a notice from King County District Court. It is a scam notice, according to District Court. It is important that people do not click the QR code or send money.

People are advised to contact King County District Court if they have any questions about a hearing notice they have received.

The KCPAO says the fake notices have been received by both email and text.

Julia March 20, 2026 (5:40 pm)

The “state seal” is just gibberish.

Daniel March 20, 2026 (6:06 pm)

As a general rule, never click any link in an email, or scan any QR code in an email. If you get an email from an institution (bank, company, government, whatever), go to their website manually, not by clicking through from the email.

RickB March 20, 2026 (7:11 pm)

I’d like to recommend not scanning any QR codes, ever — they could point literally anywhere — but with how ubiquitous they’ve become, that ship has likely sailed.

Erik March 20, 2026 (6:39 pm)

I think this is an evolution from the phone scam. A phone scammer contacted me a couple of years ago saying they were with the police department calling on behalf of King County District Court. They even hung up, called me back, spoofing the police department’s own phone number. They almost had me until I googled it and the police department has some notice up saying there’s a scam. When I mentioned it to them, they said “OK have a nice day, sir” and then hung up lol

Pixie b March 20, 2026 (7:44 pm)

No name of the person receiving the notice, licence plate number, date of violation, officer name and signature, car make, etc. Always call or use the official website you look up yourself.John Smith! You have got to be joking. Most common name ever!

Jim March 20, 2026 (10:21 pm)

So common that it’s shared by both the judge and the clerk 😂

jissy March 20, 2026 (9:20 pm)

My 17 year old daughter got one of these today. Sent by text. Freaked her out for a moment then realized it was bunk.

Gr8erK8er March 21, 2026 (12:22 am)

I received one allegedly from another state I’ve never been to ever early yesterday. I received two from two different numbers today, despite deleting and blocking the first one and reporting as spam. The judge as John Smith, no make, model, date of violation, etc. indicated it was very obviously a scam to me.

Mellow Kitty March 21, 2026 (7:54 am)

Once again for those in the back of the room. Police, FBI, the courts, none of them are going to give you a courtesy call or email/text a summons. They show up at your door or send certified letters. The bank will never reach out to you regarding your accounts. Never answer random calls and start confirming anything. No one offers free grants or scholarships; there’s a lengthy application process for all grants and scholarships. Don’t sign anything until you confirm that it’s real. A real court summons will not have a QR code. And above all, never click on links or scan QR codes that randomly show up in texts, emails, chats, comment sections, ect. If is smells of 🐂💩, it probably is.