The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana is warning Hoosiers that they have received reports of scammers posing as local law enforcement officials who call or email potential victims, falsely claiming that the person has an outstanding warrant or has been held in contempt of court.
Sometimes, the scammers target professionals as well, in particular, attorneys or health care providers, and accuse them of allegedly failing to appear as an expert witness at a court hearing or trial.
Recipients of these calls and emails are told they can pay a fine to have the outstanding warrant expunged or avoid arrest. Using threats and scare tactics, the scammers then entice their victim to pay this “fine” with cash cards or other electronic payment.
The scammers often spoof real government phone numbers and provide their victims with the names of real law enforcement officers, real court officials, and real judges.
The District Court is advising that this is a scam, as real courts and real law enforcement officers will never call or email someone and demand a payment for any reason. If you receive such a call or email, hang up or delete it immediately.
They are also offering some tips on things to remember and what to do if you are contacted by anyone claiming to be a law enforcement officer or court official:
- Only scammers will call, text, or email demanding that you pay by cash, gift card, cryptocurrency, payment app, or a wire transfer service. No court official or law enforcement officer will ever make such a demand.
- Real law enforcement and real court officials will never demand that you pay fines by phone.
- Real law enforcement and real court officials will never call to say you’re going to be arrested, or threaten to arrest you if you hang up.
- A fine will never be imposed until after an individual has appeared in court and been given the opportunity to explain a failure to appear.
- Do not divulge personal information or financial information to unknown callers, including those who claim to work for the government.
Residents of the Southern District of Indiana who believe they have been the victim of such a scam are encouraged to report the incident to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (“IC3”) at ic3.gov, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/. Additional information about this scam is available on the FTC’s website.
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