Warning - Phone Scam

The U.S. Marshals Service recently warned the public of a nationwide telephone scam involving individuals claiming to be U.S. marshals, court officers or other law enforcement officials seeking to collect a fine in lieu of arrest for failing to report for jury duty or in failing to respond to a subpoena.  The U.S. Marshals Service and other law enforcement officials do not call anyone to arrange payment of fines over the phone for failure to appear for jury duty or any other infraction.  To appear more credible, the scammers may even provide information like badge numbers and the names of actual federal judges, law enforcement officials, and courthouse addresses.  Victims have been told they can avoid arrest by paying a fine using a reloadable credit card and were urged to call a number and provide their own credit card number to initiate the process.  The United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia urges the public not to divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers, even if they sound legitimate.

If you believe you were a victim of the jury duty scam, you are encouraged to report the incident to your local law enforcement department, or local U.S. Marshals or FBI office.

NEF Scam Alert

There has been nationwide reporting of fake Notices of Electronic Filing (NEFs) being sent to attorneys and law firms across the country. The fake NEFs are phishing attempts to convince recipients to respond back to the emails. Once a recipient replies to the email, they are sent a follow-on email containing a link to access a document that leads to a malicious website. Please take caution if you receive one of these fake NEFs - validate cases and case documentation through CM/ECF only, and do not download any attachments or click on any links from unofficial or questionable sources.