Bend police warn of imposter scam calls

The Bend Police Department is alerting the public of nationwide imposter scams involving callers claiming to be federal marshals or Social Security Administration officials.

“If you know of friends or family who are not on social media please pass this information onto them, so they can stay informed,” the department said in Tuesday’s Facebook post.

During the calls claiming to be a U.S. marshal, the caller has been placing the call in the evening to a manager of a business, and the scammer tells the victim to avoid arrest they need to purchase prepaid debit cards such as a Green Dot card or gift card and read the card number over the phone to satisfy the fine. The scammer then tells the victim to destroy the card by cutting them up.

During the calls claiming to be from the Social Security Administration, the scammer claims the victims’ Social Security number “has been suspended for suspicion of illegal activity,” and the person should contact a provided phone number immediately to resolve the issue.

The call concludes by stating if the person does not contact the provided phone number, the person’s assets will be frozen until the alleged issue is resolved.

In other cases, a caller claims to be from “SSA headquarters” and waits for the person to provide personal information, such as a SSN, address, and date of birth.

“Scammers use many tactics to sound credible,” the police department warned. “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.”

Things to remember:
• 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 FBI office, 541-389-1202 in Bend, and to the Federal Trade Commission, www.ftc.gov
• Authenticate the call by calling the clerk of the court’s office of the U.S. District Court in your area and verify the court order given by the caller
• Social Security Administration warns citizens to be cautious, and to avoid providing information such as your SSN or bank account numbers to unknown persons over the phone or internet unless you are certain of who is receiving it.
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