Federal officials are alerting the public to several nationwide imposter scams involving individuals claiming to be U.S. marshals, court officers, or other law enforcement officials.
In the scam, criminals call their victims claiming the are trying to collect a fine in lieu of arrest for failing to report for jury duty or other offenses. The scammers tell victims they can avoid arrest by purchasing a prepaid debit card and read the card number over the phone to satisfy the fine.
These scammers use various tactics to sound credible, including badge numbers, names of actual law enforcement officials and federal judges, and courthouse addresses. Some will spoof their phone numbers on caller ID as appear if they are calling from a court or government agency.
Anyone who believes they were a victim of such a scam, is encouraged to report the incident to their local FBI office and to the FTC.
