U.S. Marshals, Poland Police warn of phone scammers impersonating law enforcement officers

The U.S. Marshals alongside the Poland Village Police Department are warning the public of a phone scam involving scammers impersonating law enforcement.

According to a police report from Poland Village PD, police responded to a call from a woman on Wednesday in regards to a scam.

Police say the woman had received a call with no caller ID and when she answered, it was someone claiming to be from the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office telling her she was being charged with several crimes for failing to appear in court on a subpoena.

The woman told police the scammer told her she would be arrested if she didn't pay her bond amount of $4,000 in "Moneypak" cards by the end of the day.

Police say the woman complied with the scammer's request and was told to go to several stores to purchase the cards including Boardman Speedway, Boardman Sheetz, Boardman CVS, Boardman Walgreen's, North Lima Speedway and Canfield Sheetz.

According to the report, each card has a limit of $500 and each location allows for the purchase of three cards at the most. Police say the woman was on the phone with the scammer the entire time she purchased the cards.

Once the woman completed the scammer's request, police say she was told another charge was filed against her and she needed to buy $4,000 more in Moneypak cards, which she did.

Once all the cards were purchased, the woman was told to go to the Youngstown Post Office to buy envelopes to send to the U.S. Department of Treasury and then go to the federal court in Youngstown.

Police say once the woman got to the federal courthouse, the scammer hung up the phone and the woman asked an employee if she had been scammed.

A U.S. Marshal explained that she had indeed been scammed and instructed her to file a report with her local police department.

According to a press release from U.S. Marshals, this scam could come in many different forms including someone being the suspect of identity theft or someone failing to appear for jury duty.

Marshals say scammers can use tactics to make them appear more credible such as spoofing the actual numbers to local law enforcement agencies or using the names and badge numbers of real police officers and/or judges.

Marshals are reminding folks that law enforcement would never call a member of the public over the phone demanding payment to resolve a case, nor will they ever ask the public for credit, debit or gift card numbers, wire transfers or BitCoin transfers for any purpose.

If you believe yourself to be a victim of a scam, you're asked to report the incident to your local police department or the Federal Trade Commission. You can report a scam online by clicking here.