The United States Marshals Service (USMS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are alerting the public to several nationwide imposter scams involving individuals claiming to be representatives of the Marshals Service, court officers, or other law enforcement officials.
The USMS is urging people to report the calls to their local FBI office and file a consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has the ability to detect patterns of fraud from the information collected and share that data with law enforcement. Scammers use many tactics to sound and appear credible, sometimes providing information like badge numbers, names of actual law enforcement officials, federal judges, and courthouse addresses. Scammers may also spoof their phone numbers to appear on caller IDs as if they are calling from a government agency or the court.
Several residents in the Northern District of Indiana have reported having received calls from individuals claiming to be the “US Marshal” informing those called that their identity had been stolen and their bank account hacked. The caller(s) then instruct those called to go to their bank and withdraw funds from the account before they are frozen. Those victims called are further told to purchase gift cards with their money and the “Marshal” would then put that money into a new account and issue them a new Social Security number. This is all false and a scam.
Be advised that the US Marshal’s Service will NOT call and ask for any money or monetary instrument over the telephone.
If you believe you were a victim of such a scam, you are encouraged to report the incident to your local FBI offices and/or to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Visit https://www.ic3.gov/ for more information.
