This story shared by KTOO in Juneau. Audio and text below.
Alaskans all over the state are reporting getting calls from the U.S. Marshals Service threatening to charge or arrest people unless they hand over money. The U.S. Marshals office says it’s a scam.
As KTOO’s Matt Miller reports, it’s a variation on phone scams that have been circulating in the rest of the country for years.
Here’s the message that Alaskans from various parts of the state have been getting:
“…And then your identity involved in criminal activity. So now in order to connect to U.S. Marshal’s office, please press one and your call will connect it to your case concern officer. Also, please note that if we don’t hear back from you, there will be some serious legal charges filed against you. Thank you.”
Laurel Andrews of Fairbanks got that message.
“I didn’t call them back. I considered it, but I don’t want them to have my number on their list or however it works.”
Alaskans may be getting flooded with these calls. But they’re actually not new. They’re part of a scam that’s swept nationwide for the last several years.
Usually, the person being called is threatened with criminal charges or arrest if they don’t hand over checking account or credit card numbers or personal information like a social security number to the U.S. Marshals Service.
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“We wouldn’t call you and warn you that we’d be coming. We would be knocking on your door.”
That’s Deputy U-S Marshal Rochelle (leh-dike) Liedike who says they’ve received hundreds of reports from Alaskans about the fraud. The phone calls sometimes appear ‘spoofed’ which is when they look like they’re from a local phone number.
“First of all, if you don’t recognize the number coming in to you, don’t answer the call, let it go to voicemail. Do not respond to that voicemail. Again, this is not (an) actual US Marshals office contacting you. Please do not push any buttons. Do not provide any information to them. Just hang up on the call.”
Liedike says their office in Anchorage has been jammed with calls from Alaskans asking or notifying them about the scam. But she says the U.S. Marshals Service cannot investigate the calls. Neither can any local police department.
The scammy calls may come and go in waves. So, Liedike urges Alaskans to go to the F-B-I‘s Internet Crime Complaint Center or report fraud at the Federal Trade Commission website, especially if someone suspects they may have become a victim.
Reporting in Juneau, I’m Matt Miller.
