Federal authorities warn public of fraudsters impersonating prosecutors

CINCINNATI - Federal authorities are warning citizens of a scammer or group of scammers-potentially outside of the United States-contacting American citizens around the country, posing as prosecutors or other federal law enforcement officials and attempting to defraud people of money.

According to the FBI, the perpetrators reach out via text message, email or phone call, impersonating federal prosecutors or agents and claiming you have been a victim of fraud or are a suspect in a fraud investigation. There are typically several contacts before personal information is requested, including credit cards, banking and other information.

Scammers often provide details like actual law enforcement titles, badge numbers, names, and addresses to increase their credibility. They may even "spoof" phone numbers to make calls appear to come from legitimate government agencies, further deceiving victims. In this specific scheme, callers are identifying themselves as "Prosecutor Dominick Gerace."

"The Department of Justice and the FBI will never direct you to wire money," said U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II. "If you receive calls or messages of this sort, do not provide any personal information, credit card numbers, prepaid cards or money. Federal authorities do not call victims of crimes or suspects of crimes and ask for money or personal identifying information over the telephone."

"Government impersonation scams are on the rise and scammers are getting more sophisticated," stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Jason Cromartie. "If someone contacts you claiming to be from the government and pressures you to send money, it's a scam. Report this activity to ic3.gov and protect your hard-earned savings by never sending money."
Here are some tips to avoid becoming the victim of this type of scam:

• Always be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls, text messages and emails.
• Never give money or personal information to someone with whom you don't have ties and did not initiate contact.
• Trust your instincts: if an unknown caller pressures you or says things that don't sound right, hang up.
• If concerns remain about the caller's claims, verify the information with the appropriate law enforcement agency or court officials.

If you believe you have been a victim of a fraudulent scheme, you are encouraged to file a report, including a description of the caller and any available caller ID information, with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

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