Nationwide phone scams prompt U.S. Marshal Service to issue warning

MACON — The U.S. Marshal Service in the Middle District of Georgia issued a release recently warning the public about several nationwide imposter scams involving individuals claiming to be U.S. Marshals, court officers or other law enforcement officials.

“The U.S. Marshals would never ask for a credit/debit or gift card number or banking routing numbers or ask for funds to be wired for any purpose,” acting U.S. Marshal for the Middle District of Georgia Tricia Ashford said. “If the caller is urging you to provide this type of information or any other personal or financial information, hang up and report the call to the Marshals and the FTC. You can even report to both agencies anonymously.”

According to the Marshal Service, anyone who has been a target or a victim of these scams is urged to report the calls to their local U.S. Marshals Service office or the Federal Trade Commission, which has the ability to detect patterns of fraud from the information collected and share that data with law enforcement.

“These are not victimless crimes,” Ashford said. “People have lost thousands of dollars to these scammers. This can be devastating, especially during the holidays. The information people report to the FTC can help law enforcement investigate and track down the perpetrators.”

The Marshals Service said during the calls, scammers attempt to collect a fine in lieu of arrest for failing to report for jury duty or other offenses. They 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.

“While these callers may sound legitimate, we urge people to question their validity,” said Ashford. “The easiest way to do this is to call the clerk of the court’s office of the U.S. District Court in your area and verify the court order. If an order does not exist, someone just tried to swindle you out of your hard-earned cash.”

Scammers will use many different convincing tactics to sound credible, officials with the Marshals Service said. Scammers may even sometimes provide information like badge numbers, names of actual law enforcement officials and federal judges, and courthouse addresses while spoofing their phone numbers to appear on caller ID as if they are calling from the court or a government agency.

Officials with the Marshals Service are hopeful that information collected by the FTC will lead to possible arrests and offered several tips pertaining to possible scams:

— U.S. Marshals will never ask for credit/debit card/gift card numbers, wire transfers, or bank routing numbers for any purpose;

— Do not divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers;

— Report scam phone calls to your local U.S. Marshals Service office and to the FTC;

— You can remain anonymous when you report;

— Authenticate a suspected scam 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.

For more information, visit www.usmarshals.gov or call the U.S. Marshals Service Middle District of Georgia at (478) 752-8280.

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