The U.S. Marshals call you on the phone. How can you tell if it's for real or a clever scam?
Scams are as old as time − and as technology grows ever more sophisticated, so too do the scams intended to extract money from vulnerable targets. While some scammers might still be working the "grandchild in need of bail money" angle, many new scams involve AI technology that can mimic voices or "spoofed” caller IDs to make an incoming call appear to be coming from a friend or family member.
One new scam that has been popping up in Eastern Tennessee is a caller pretending to be from a court office or even the U.S. Marshals, who tells the intended victim they need to pay a fine. In the newest twist, rather than asking for payment in gift cards − a sure tip-off of a scam − the scammer asks the victim to withdraw cash and transfer it to a bitcoin ATM.
What is the U.S. Marshals scam?
The U.S. Marshals Office this week sent out an email alerting East Tennessee residents it is seeing a large number of imposter scams involving individuals claiming to be U.S. Marshals, court officers, or other law enforcement officials.
During these calls, scammers tell victims they are in danger of being arrested due to a claim of identity theft, failing to report for jury duty, or other civil process issues. They then tell victims they can avoid arrest by paying a fine.
What tactics do scammers use to appear legitimate?
Scammers use many tactics to sound and appear credible, the U.S. Marshals Office said. They sometimes provide information like badge numbers, names of actual law enforcement officials and federal judges, and courthouse addresses. They can also spoof government phone numbers to appear on caller IDs to make it seem as if they are calling from a government agency or the court.
The scammer will have victim information including old addresses and phone numbers to make their claims legitimate. To make their call seem even more real, the scammer will provide a fake personal ID number, case number for the investigation and warrant number. The scammer will tell the victim that they will be re-contacted by an investigator. The second person will then call and identifying himself as a United States marshal; U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Tennessee David Jolley’s name has been used by the scammers.
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How do you know if the call is real?
The short and simple answer is, a law enforcement official will never call you and ask for money.
The U.S. Marshals Service will never ask for credit, debit card or gift card numbers, wire transfers or bank routing numbers, or to make bitcoin deposits for any purpose, its office said.
The Knox County and federal court systems will never call citizens to make a request for payment of fines for failure to appear for jury duty, nor will court officials ask for personal information by mail or over the phone. Any communication about jury duty, even if you missed your assigned time to show up, will come by mail. If you miss jury duty, the courts will contact you by mail to reschedule your jury service.
Similarly, the Knox County Sheriff's Office will never call you about jury duty, or delinquent property or business taxes.
What should you do if you get a scam call?
Never divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers.
Authenticate the call by calling the clerk of the court's office in your area and verifying the court order information given by the caller.
Report scam phone calls to your local FBI office and to the Federal Trade Commission. You can remain anonymous when you report.
KCSO handles all warrant services for Knox County, both civil and criminal. To verify the validity of a warrant, call 865-215-2243 and someone in the records unit will assist you.
Liz Kellar is a Tennessee Connect reporter. Email liz.kellar@knoxnews.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Is there a US Marshals scam? Yes, how to tell if call is real or fake
