US marshals warn of crafty cellphone rip-off affecting Mainers
Cellphone scammers impersonating U.S. marshals and different federal officers have been intimidating Mainers for the previous two weeks.
These scammers threaten victims with arrest, seizure of property and different penalties in the event that they don’t pay a high-quality or publish bond, the U.S. Marshals Service in Maine warned in a press launch Friday. Scammers have been reciting publicly out there info on their potential victims, comparable to earlier addresses or cellphone numbers, to seem reputable, in keeping with the Service.
Scammers might also spoof their caller IDs and supply fictitious info comparable to badge numbers, case numbers and names of regulation enforcement officers, the U.S. Marshals Service stated.
Officers are not sure of the callers’ origins at the moment, and say that different components of New England are being affected.
U.S. Marshals in Boston are additionally getting studies of those cellphone calls, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Ryan Guay of Maine stated.
The U.S. Marshals Service urges the general public to be vigilant, and says that federal marshals won’t ever inquire about bank card numbers, financial institution routing numbers or every other private monetary info.
“We don’t ask for such issues,” Guay stated.
Primarily based on previous patterns, the U.S. Marshals Service thinks there’s a group of individuals working collaboratively on this rip-off. The Service urges Mainers to report rip-off cellphone calls to the Federal Commerce Fee or their native FBI workplace.
