Email scam tricks people with fake court appearance notices

Minnesota courts are sounding the alarm about an email scam that makes reference to court appearances.

State court officials said members of the public have called about emails that include phone numbers for local courts and are titled "Notice to Appear." Court officials believe it may be an effort to get recipients to open attachments that may contain malware or present a security risk to the recipient's computer.

Courts spokesman John Kostouros said courts only communicate with parties expected to appear in court via one method: "By mail."

He says the only time he knows courts will deliberately contact a party via email is to let them know that an appeals court decision is about to be issued, and he says even in those cases, they're notified by U.S. Mail, as well.