CLEVELAND — There’s a message for you about a new phone scam.
“Do not panic. That’s the biggest thing I can tell everybody out there,” said United States Marshal Peter Elliott.
This warning may sound weird coming from United States Marshal Peter Elliott. But, it’s important you listen to him to avoid someone stealing your identity.
“They panic because they think there’s a warrant for their arrest. They think one of their children or grandchildren may have been hurt. They’re asked to provide financial information really quick or go to a Target and provide gift cards. We don’t operate that way in law enforcement,” explained Elliott.
In the last several days, Elliott says he’s been receiving calls from targeted doctors’ and dentists’ offices that someone is claiming to be him and asking for patients’ billing information.
For some, Elliott says they're being told there's a warrant for their arrest.
He says they are then asked to provide their banking account information to take care of the warrant.
“There’s a voicemail that they’ve set up in a private number that’s saying they're Pete Elliott the US Marshall from Ohio,” said Elliott.
When News 5 tried calling, the number had already been disconnected.
“At this point we are tracing those numbers and tracking those numbers,” said Elliott.
If you’re wondering how you can tell the difference between what’s real and fake:
“Call back the real US Marshal Service,” said Elliott. “They’re spoofing numbers that turn out to be real numbers but when you call those real numbers back, they are our number.”
Experts tell News 5 scammers are now using false authority, like the US Marshal, because it creates less suspicion and more pressure.
“They know that the longer that you're able to think about what's going on and kind of what you're being asked to do from a scam perspective, the more likely you are to realize the scam and not follow through. So, they'll create that sense of urgency,” said TrustedSec Advisory Solutions Director, Alex Hamerstone.
But if you remember to not panic, Elliott says you’ll thank yourself later.
“It’s frustrating. But you know, scammers are scammers,” said Elliott.
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