The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio is cautioning local residents about a telephone scamming campaign where the caller is portraying themselves as an attorney, representative or law enforcement officer with the caller ID showing as the Department of Justice or the attorney’s office.
Scammers may attempt to collect money or threaten arrest or legal action. These calls are bogus and an attempt to use a legitimate law enforcement number to obtain money from victims.
Scammers have tactics which make them appear credible. They may provide actual names of federal prosecutors and federal office addresses. They also spoof their phone numbers to appear on caller IDs as if they are calling from a government agency.
Never share personal identifying information with a caller that you have not initiated contact with or have not verified as a legitimate business or organization.
The attorney’s office will never ask you to purchase a gift card or give out a credit card number to avoid arrest.
To report a call or message from someone portraying to be a representative of the attorney’s office or department of justice, contact the Federal Trade Commission reportfraud.ftc.gov.
