S C A M A L E R T S

If you receive communication that purports to be from this court, you may call

703-299-2100 (Alexandria Division), 804-916-2200 (Richmond Division),

or 757-222-7201 (Newport News/Norfolk Division).

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November15, 2017: U.S. Marshals Urge Public to Report Phone Scams to Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Scammers may take advantage of holiday season to steal your money

The U.S. Marshals are alerting the public of several nationwide imposter scams involving individuals claiming

to be U.S. Marshals, court officers, or other law enforcement officials. They are urging people to report the calls

not only to their local U.S. Marshals Service office, but also to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has the

ability to detect patterns of fraud from the information collected and can share that data with law enforcement,

leading to possible arrests.

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.

Please note that the U.S. Marshals will never ask for a credit/debit or gift card number or banking routing

numbers or ask for funds to be wired for any purpose. If the caller presses for this type of information or

any other personal or financial information to be provided, hang up and report the call to the Marshals

and the FTC. You can even report to both agencies anonymously.

Scammers use many tactics to sound credible. They sometimes provide information like badge numbers, names

of actual law enforcement officials and federal judges, and courthouse addresses. They may also spoof their

phone numbers to appear on caller ID as if they are calling from the court or a government agency.

While these callers may sound legitimate, their validity can be easily checked with a call to the clerk

of the court’s office of the U.S. District Court in your area to verify any referenced court order. 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 Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

May 27, 2017: U.S. Marshals Continue to Warn of Phone Scam

The U.S. Marshals Service is warning the public of several nationwide telephone scams involving individuals

claiming to be U.S. marshals, court officers, or other law enforcement officials.

In one scam, the caller attempts to collect a fine in lieu of arrest for failing to report for jury duty. The U.S.

Marshals Service does not call anyone to arrange payment of fines over the phone for failure to appear for jury

duty or any other infraction. In another scam, call recipients are told they have won the Publishers Clearing

House sweepstakes and are directed to pay a fee in order to claim the prize.

In order to appear credible, these scammers may provide information like badge numbers, the names of actual

law enforcement officials and federal judges, and courthouse addresses. They may also spoof their phone

numbers to appear on caller ID as if they are calling from the court or a government agency.

Victims have been told they can avoid arrest or claim a prize by purchasing a prepaid debit card or gift card and

reading that number over the phone to the scammers. The Marshals Service urges the public not to divulge

personal or financial information to unknown callers, even if they sound legitimate. Actual court orders can be

verified through the clerk of court's office of the U.S. District Court in your area.

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.

Things to remember:

 U.S. Marshals will never seek payment of fines via the telephone for individuals who missed jury duty

or have outstanding arrest warrants.

 U.S. Marshals will never ask for credit/debit card/gift card numbers, wire transfers, or bank routing

numbers for any purpose.

 Don’t divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers.

 Report scam phone calls to your local U.S. Marshals Service office.

December 23, 2015: U.S. Marshals Warn of Phone Scam

The U.S. Marshals Service is warning the public today of a telephone scam involving a man posing as a U.S.

Marshal. The man reportedly identifies himself as a U.S. Marshal while calling victims to advise that he or she

has missed federal grand jury but can avoid arrest by paying a fine immediately.

There are several reported incidents of this scam taking place this week in Hampton Roads. The Marshals

Service became aware of the scam after receiving several calls from alert citizens in the Norfolk, Virginia area.

The U.S. Marshals Service is a federal law enforcement agency and does not seek payment of fines or fees via

the telephone for individuals.

The U.S. Marshals Service urges individuals not to divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers

and highly recommends the public report similar crimes to the FBI or their local police or Sheriff’s office if

they are the victims of fraud. For internet related fraud, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center can be

contacted at www.ic3.gov.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at www.usmarshals.gov.

July, 2014: Jury Email Scam

Citizens are being targeted by a juror phishing email that asks recipients to provide personal identifiers (SSN,

DOB, mother’s maiden name, etc.) on an attached PDF form and emailed back to the originator. Please do not

respond to the email. Our Court will not request that your personal identification information be sent directly

in an email response. Our request for you to complete a qualification questionnaire will be initiated by formal

written correspondence and we will provide instructions for our juror participants to be authenticated over a

secure connection.

June, 2014: Arrest Warrant Scam

You've received a warrant by fax or email saying a federal law enforcement officer or an attorney for the

government wants to arrest you. Charges may be for money laundering or bank fraud, or missed jury duty. To

avoid arrest, the warrant says, send money. It's a scam. The warrants may display a bogus logo of an

unspecified "United States District Court," a case number, and various charges. Typically, recipients are

instructed to call a number to get a "settlement" or to wire money to avoid arrest. The warrant is phony. A valid

warrant would not be served by fax or e-mail. It would be served in person by a U.S. Marshal or other law

enforcement officer.

Anyone receiving a fake arrest warrant should contact the FBI or the district U.S. Marshals Office. If there is

any question regarding the authenticity of a warrant, contact your district clerk of court. The fake arrest

warrants have been reported across the country, including in the District Courts for the Southern District of

Ohio, Southern District of Illinois, New Mexico, Western District of Kentucky, Utah, the District of Columbia,

and throughout Florida. Anyone demanding or obtaining money or anything of value while impersonating an

officer or employee of the United States may be fined and/or imprisoned up to three years.

January, 2014: Email Scam

The federal judiciary has learned of an email scam, in which emails purporting to come from federal and state

courts are infecting recipients with computer viruses.

According to the Security Operations Center of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the emails are

instructing recipients to report to a hearing on a specified day and time or in the form of an eviction notice. The

emails also instruct recipients to review an attached document for detailed case information. When the

attachments or links in the email are opened, a malicious program is launched that infects the recipient's

computer. Several state courts have reported similar schemes, and also are warning the public about potential

viruses.

Unless you are actively involved in a case in federal court and have consented to receive court notifications

electronically, you generally will not be served with court documents electronically.

August, 2013: Jury Telephone Scam

Increasingly, calls are being made to the public from individuals who claim to be an officer of the court, stating

that the person failed to report for jury duty and a warrant has been issued for their arrest. When the person

denies receiving the summons, the caller asks for verification in the form of date of birth, social security

number, place of employment, or even a credit card number. Fraudulent emails are also being sent to the public

indicating that they must report for jury duty on a federal case.

These are scams and are malicious attempts to obtain personal information from you or to have you falsely

report to a courthouse. Do not provide any information to the caller and hang up the phone immediately and

delete any emails that summons you for jury duty on a federal case. Clerk's Office staff will never ask you for

this kind of personal information or summons jurors by email. At most, a Clerk's Office staff member might ask

you to confirm your mailing address to ensure that jury summonses are received.