US Marshal Phone Scam: Warning Signs and What to Do

If someone called claiming to be a U.S. Marshal and told you to pay a fine, wire money, or buy gift cards to avoid arrest, it is a U.S. Marshal phone scam. The real U.S. Marshals Service does not call people to demand money, and it has said so publicly and repeatedly. Hang up. You do not owe the caller anything, and you are not about to be arrested for refusing to pay them.

How to Recognize the Call

The script varies, but the shape is consistent. A caller says he is a deputy U.S. Marshal, a court officer, or another federal law enforcement official. He tells you that you are about to be arrested and gives a reason: you missed federal jury duty, there is a warrant with your name on it, your Social Security number has been linked to money laundering or drug trafficking, or your identity turned up in a financial crime. He sounds official. He speaks in legal-sounding language. He does not want you to hang up.

To make the threat believable, scammers salt the call with specifics. They cite a badge number, a case number, or a warrant number. They name a real federal judge or a real U.S. Marshal in your district. A January 2025 warning from the U.S. Marshals Service described callers in the Western District of Arkansas invoking the name of U.S. Marshal Gary Grimes and reciting real courthouse addresses.1U.S. Marshals Service. Telephone Scams Using US Marshals Name Some callers read back your home address, phone number, or date of birth to make it feel like they already have a file on you.2U.S. Marshals Service. US Marshals, FBI Urge Public to Report Phone Scams

Then comes the offer. Pay a fine right now and the whole thing goes away. In more elaborate versions, a second caller phones to “confirm” the first caller’s story and presents a choice: hire a criminal lawyer, or resolve it through an “Alternate Dispute Resolution” that requires immediate payment. You may be told to stay on the line so the call can be “recorded as proof of compliance.” The point of that instruction is to keep you from calling anyone who might tell you it is a scam.3U.S. Courts, Western District of Pennsylvania. Ongoing Scam: Subjects Posing as US Marshal

The payment methods are the giveaway. Scammers demand prepaid debit cards or gift cards (often Green Dot cards) with the numbers read aloud over the phone, cash deposited into a Bitcoin ATM with the resulting QR code texted back, or wire transfers. In the most aggressive version, victims are told to withdraw 80 percent of their savings, deposit it into a personal Bitcoin wallet, and send a photo of their driver’s license, with the promise that the money will be returned in 24 hours after a new Social Security number is issued. It never comes back.2U.S. Marshals Service. US Marshals, FBI Urge Public to Report Phone Scams Losses in the thousands to tens of thousands of dollars per incident are common.3U.S. Courts, Western District of Pennsylvania. Ongoing Scam: Subjects Posing as US Marshal

Common cover stories to watch for:

  • Missed federal jury duty and a warrant issued for your arrest.4U.S. Courts, Western District of Virginia. US Marshals Warn of Jury Phone Scam
  • Your Social Security number or bank account has been linked to crime and you need to “protect” your funds by moving them.
  • A package with drugs or cash was intercepted in your name (a version that uses Customs and Border Protection instead of the Marshals; CBP has issued its own warning that it will never call to demand money).5U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Public Phone Scam Continues to Target Citizens
  • A fake “jury qualification questionnaire” or identity-verification procedure that asks for your Social Security number, date of birth, and banking information.6U.S. Courts, Eastern District of Virginia. Scam Alerts

Why the Caller ID Looks Real

The number showing up on your phone may look like a government office or courthouse line. Scammers use a technique the FCC calls “neighbor spoofing” to make the caller ID display anything they choose.7U.S. Marshals Service. US Marshals Alert Public of Scam Spoofing Official Phones Transmitting misleading caller ID with intent to defraud violates the Truth in Caller ID Act and can carry penalties of up to $10,000 per violation, but the practice is still common because many of these operations run out of overseas call centers.8Federal Communications Commission. Spoofing Treat the number on your screen as unverified information, no matter what it says.

What Real U.S. Marshals Never Do

The cleanest way to identify a scam call is to know what the actual agency will not do. According to the U.S. Marshals Service’s own public statements, the agency will never:

  • Call to demand payment of any kind.
  • Ask for gift card or prepaid card numbers.
  • Request wire transfers, Bitcoin, or other cryptocurrency payments.
  • Ask for credit card, debit card, or bank routing numbers over the phone.
  • Solicit personal or financial information through an unsolicited call.

Marshal Gary Grimes stated it plainly: “The U.S. Marshals would never ask for a credit/debit or gift card number or banking routing numbers or ask for funds to be wired for any purpose.” When the Marshals Service has legitimate business with someone, contact happens in person or through official mail, and a deputy will present credentials showing a name, title, badge number, and photograph.1U.S. Marshals Service. Telephone Scams Using US Marshals Name Federal courts do not serve arrest warrants by phone, fax, or email. A valid warrant is served in person.9U.S. Department of Justice. US Attorneys Office and US Marshals Service Warn Public of Jury Duty Scam

What to Do Right Now

If you are on the call, hang up. You do not need a reason, you do not need to explain, and you do not need to stay on the line to “clear your name.” Nothing bad happens to you legally for ending a call from a stranger.

If the story has shaken you and you want to be sure, verify independently. Do not call any number the caller gave you; a “supervisor” callback line is part of the same operation. Instead:

  • Go to usmarshals.gov, find the district office for your area, and call that number directly to ask whether the contact was legitimate. The agency’s headquarters number is (202) 307-9100.10U.S. Marshals Service. Contact Us
  • If the caller referenced a court order, subpoena, or warrant, call the clerk of court for the U.S. District Court in your area and ask whether any such document exists in your name.11U.S. Marshals Service. US Marshals Service Warns Public of Threatening Phone Scam
  • Do not give the caller any personal information, even to “verify” what they claim to already know. Do not confirm your address, your date of birth, or your Social Security number.
  • Do not buy gift cards, feed a Bitcoin ATM, or wire money. Those instructions alone tell you it is a scam.

How to Report It

Reporting the call matters even if you did not lose money, because it helps agencies track the operations and shut them down. You can file a report with any or all of the following:

If You Already Paid or Gave Information

Act quickly. Gift card, wire, and cryptocurrency payments are hard or impossible to reverse once sent, but there is a narrow window when a bank, wire service, or gift card issuer may still be able to freeze the transfer. Call the company you used and tell them the payment was fraudulent. Then file reports with the FTC, your local U.S. Marshals district office, and your local FBI field office. If you handed over your Social Security number, bank details, or a copy of your driver’s license, treat it as an identity theft exposure: contact your bank, monitor your accounts, and consider placing a fraud alert or credit freeze with the credit bureaus.

One last thing worth knowing: impersonating a federal officer is itself a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. ยง 912, punishable by up to three years in prison, and people who take part in these schemes on U.S. soil do get prosecuted.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC Chapter 43 – False Personation The person on the phone is the one breaking the law. Not you.