Federal authorities in New Orleans are warning people about a scam where people get a call from what appears to be the U.S. Marshals Service for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
“Our office has received numerous inquiries about phone calls from the U.S. Marshals seeking mandatory payment or go to jail,” U.S. Marshal Enix Smith said, “I want the public to know that these calls are scams! I urge you to verify the court order given by the caller by simply contacting the U.S. District Court Clerk’s Office in your area.”
Officials say con artists are spoofing the district office’s real number to trick people into sending them payments.
A news release says, “The U.S. Marshals are urging people to report the calls to 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.”
Authorities say that 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 sending money or by purchasing a prepaid debit card or gift card and read the card number over the phone to satisfy the fine. Scammers use many different tactics to sound credible. They sometimes provide information like badge numbers, names of actual law enforcement officials and federal judges, and courthouse addresses.”
The feds issued a list of things to remember:
-U.S. Marshals will never ask for credit/debit card/gift card numbers, wire transfers, or bank routing numbers for any purpose.
-Don’t 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.
-If scammer provides a court order, 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.
