U.S. Marshals Warn of Scam

Cincinnati, OH - The U.S. Marshals Service is warning the public today of a telephone scam involving a fraudulent caller contacting members of the public and alleging they or their family members have an active federal arrest warrant and demanding payment of fines.

On December 7, 2015, the fraudster identified himself as a Deputy United States Marshal and informed the potential victims they or their family member had active federal warrants for their arrest. The caller then gave the potential victims a contact number and information to pay the fine. The phony law enforcement officer threatened the potential victims with arrest if the fine was not paid. The fraudster then tells the victim to buy a prepaid money card from a local grocery store in the Cincinnati area. The victim is then instructed to give the access account code for the prepaid money card to the phony law enforcement officer. The Marshals Service became aware of the scam after receiving several calls from alert citizens in the Cincinnati, Ohio area.

The U.S. Marshals Service is a federal law enforcement agency and does not seek payment of fines or fees via the telephone for individuals with outstanding arrest warrants.

The U.S. Marshals Service urges individuals not to divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers and highly recommends the public report similar crimes to the FBI or their local police or Sheriff’s office if they are the victims of fraud. For internet related fraud, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center can be contacted at www.ic3.gov.

U.S. Marshals are the nation’s primary fugitive hunting organization and capture more fugitives each year than all other law enforcement agencies combined.