(NewsNation) — The U.S. Attorney’s Office is warning of scammers who are claiming to represent the U.S. office.
The scammers are calling people to collect money instead of being arrested on false charges. Like with many scams, the callers tell victims they can avoid punishment by buying prepaid debit or gift cards and reading the numbers over the phone.
According to the Justice Department, the scammers sometimes provide information like actual names of federal prosecutors and federal office addresses. Some can make their phone number on a caller ID appear as if it is coming from a government office.
“Remember that the U.S. Attorney’s Office will never ask you to purchase a gift card or give out a credit card number to avoid arrest,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
The gift card scam isn’t new but is becoming more difficult to spot for some.
As NewsNation has reported, some scammers use artificial intelligence to clone a voice and pretend to be someone’s family member requesting money, often in the form of a gift card. Others coerce victims to put funds on gift cards that don’t exist.
The Better Business Bureau reports a 50% increase in scams involving gift cards this year. From January to September 2023, there were 29,000 cases totaling $147 million in losses.
