Dec. 6—MACON — The U.S. Marshals Service for the Middle District of Georgia is warning the public to be aware of threatening phone calls from imposters pretending to be U.S. Marshals Service employees, attempting to fraudulently obtain money.
The Marshals Service was alerted to recent phone scams in which individuals were threatened with being arrested on a federal warrant if they did not pay money. Scammers use many tactics to sound 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 ID as if they are calling from the court or a government agency.
During these calls, the imposters may give potential victims options for satisfying payment in lieu of arrest, to include bitcoin deposits, wire transfers, purchasing a prepaid debit, gift or cash card, and providing the card numbers to the scammer. The scammers also may request to meet at a physical location to collect the money.
If a citizen receives a potential scam phone call, the U.S. Marshals are urging the public 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, then it is likely the individual is being scammed.
The public should be aware that no one from the U.S. Marshals Service would ever ask for money, banking information, request wire transfers or payment via gift cards for…
