“These are not victimless crimes,” stated Frank Castiglia, Acting U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Tennessee. “People have lost thousands of dollars to these scammers. This can be devastating, especially during the holidays,” he added.

During these calls, scammers try 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 purchasing a prepaid debit card such as a Green Dot card or gift card and read the card number over the phone to satisfy the fine.

“The U.S. Marshals would never ask for a credit/debit or gift card number or banking routing numbers or ask for funds to be wired for any purpose,” said Marshal Castiglia. “If the caller is urging you to provide this type of information or any other personal or financial information, hang up and report the call to the U.S. Marshals and the FTC. You can even report to both agencies anonymously.”

If you believe you were a victim of such a scam, you are encouraged to report the incident to your local U.S. Marshals Service office and to the FTC.

Useful 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.
• Do not divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers.
• Report scam phone calls to your local U.S. Marshals Service office and to the FTC.
• You can remain anonymous when you report.
• 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.