The United States Marshals Service, a federal law enforcement agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have issued a warning over bitcoin scammers pretending to be government employees.
According to an update, “spoofers” are using government phone numbers and employee names in order to demand payments from unsuspecting victims in the form of crypto and bitcoin ATMs.
UPDATED FRAUD ADVISORY – Spoofers using government phone numbers, government employees’ names,
demanding payment via bitcoin ATMs: https://t.co/ZMBG3hNJmj— U.S. Marshals (@USMarshalsHQ) December 6, 2019
The official notice warns of several “nationwide imposter scams” involving individuals claiming to be US marshals, court officers or other members of law enforcement and demanding the payment of a fine in the form of crypto.
The report continues,
During these calls, scammers attempt 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 or by depositing cash into bitcoin ATMs.
The U.S. Marshals Service is urging affected individuals to report the calls to their local FBI office and to file a consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
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