MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The U.S. Marshals and the FBI have reported a problem in the Mid-South saying that scammers are pretending to be government employees and demanding payments.
According to the release, scammers are saying that they are U.S. marshals, court officers, or other law enforcement officials and trying to collect a fine in lieu of arrest due to a claim of identity theft, failing to report for jury duty, or other offenses.
They also follow up by telling victims they can avoid arrest by withdrawing cash and transferring it to the government, purchasing a prepaid debit card such as a Green Dot card or gift card and reading the card number over the phone to satisfy the fine, or by depositing cash into bitcoin ATMs.