U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI warn about impersonation scams targeting consumers, the elderly

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio and Cleveland FBI are warning the public about an increasingly common scam that combines common tech-support fraud with the impersonation of government officials. In the scam, the victim receives a document or documents resembling an official court document both in format and language, sent through an email, the U.S. Mail, a text, or website pop-up. The document or notice says that the victim is being investigated for Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, fraud and that an arrest warrant has been issued by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division's Commercial Litigation Branch. It states that to "lift the warrant" the victim must go to a cryptocurrency kiosk and make a designated payment. These notices and documents are fake, and anyone who receives them should report receiving them to the FBI through the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, at www.ic3.gov. According to federal prosecutors, sophisticated scammers are impersonating law enforcement officers, government agencies, banks and companies to target victims. According to the FBI, people across Northern Ohio have reported receiving notifications that their computer or Amazon accounts were compromised with alerts coming from websites or pop-up ads. Victims believed they were talking to tech support staff from Microsoft or Amazon and were transferred to others who impersonated an "officer of the law," Federal Trade Commission staff or FBI agents who then demanded tens of thousands of dollars in payment to fix the situation. The victims were asked to put the cash in a package and then meet with a "federal marshal" for the pickup. The meeting locations were areas like gas stations, fast food restaurant parking lots and even victims' homes. Sometimes the victims were shown educational videos about fraud by the scammers and thanked for "doing the right thing" and supporting law enforcement efforts. Victims were often older consumers and federal authorities said both seniors and their families should be aware of this and other, similar scams. Consumers who are asked to wire, pay, or transport large amounts of cash or crypto currency to avoid arrest, jail time, or fix a tech support or some type of business-related account issue should stop communications and contact the FBI directly by filing a report online at www.ic3.gov. Consumers should also always try to verify questionable correspondence with a government agency or member of law enforcement by contacting them directly using information found on an official website or by phone. If you believe you or someone you know has been the victim of a scam, report it to the FBI or call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at (833) FRAUD-11.