Burlington, VT – The U.S. Marshals are alerting the public of
several nationwide imposter scams involving individuals claiming to be
U.S. marshals, court officers, or other law enforcement officials. They
are urging people to report the calls their
Local FBI office and file a
consumer complaint with the
Federal Trade Commission, which has the ability to detect patterns
of fraud from the information collected and share that data with law
enforcement.
During these calls, scammers attempt to collect a
fine in lieu of arrest for failing to report for jury duty or other
offenses. They then tell victims they can avoid arrest by purchasing a
prepaid debit card such as a Green Dot card or gift card and read the
card number over the phone to satisfy the fine or by depositing cash
into bitcoin ATMs.
Scammers use many tactics to sound and appear
credible. They sometimes provide information like badge numbers, names
of actual law enforcement officials and federal judges, and courthouse
addresses. They may also spoof their phone numbers to appear on caller
IDs as if they are calling from a government agency or the court.
If you believe you were a victim of such a scam, you are encouraged
to report the incident to your local
FBI office and to the
FTC.
Things to remember:
-
U.S. MARSHALS WILL NEVER ask for credit/debit
card/gift card numbers, wire transfers, or bank routing numbers, or
to make bitcoin deposits for any purpose. -
NEVER divulge personal or financial
information to unknown callers. -
Report scam phone calls to your local FBI
office and to the FTC. -
You can remain anonymous when you report.
-
Authenticate the call by calling the clerk of
the court’s office of the U.S. District Court in your area and
verify the court order given by the caller.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found
at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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America’s
First Federal Law Enforcement Agency