U.S. Attorney’s Office warns of telephone imposter scams in Florida

FLORIDA – The United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are alerting the public of several imposter scams involving individuals claiming to be United States Attorneys, FBI Agents, or other law enforcement officials, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, has announced.

Individuals receiving such calls are encouraged to report the solicitations to the FBI Jacksonville Division and file a consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which has the ability to detect patterns of fraud from the information collected and share that data with law enforcement, according to the statement.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, during the calls, which appear to come from the Northern District United States Attorney’s Office telephone number, the imposters attempt to collect a fine in lieu of arrest purportedly related to a claim of human trafficking, or other similar offenses.

The intended victims are advised they can avoid arrest by paying a monetary fine.

The tactics utilized appear credible, such as providing information like badge numbers, names of actual law enforcement officials, and physical courthouse addresses. The fraudsters also spoof their phone numbers to appear on caller IDs as if they are calling from a government agency, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

If you have been contacted or believe you were a victim of such a scam, you are encouraged to report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center and to the Federal Trade Commission.

Things to remember:

• The United States Attorney’s Office will never contact individuals about criminal investigations and never ask for credit/debit card/gift card numbers, wire transfers, or bank routing numbers, or to make bitcoin deposits for any purpose.
• You should never divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers.
• Report scam phone calls to your local FBI office and to the FTC.
• You may remain anonymous when you report suspicious or criminal activity.

For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.