Alert to Rhode Islanders: Callers Alleging Failure to Respond to Federal Court Subpoenas are Scammers

PROVIDENCE, RI – The United States District Court and the United States Attorney’s Office are aware of an ongoing scam where individuals claiming to be representatives of law enforcement are calling Rhode Islanders attempting to acquire personal information (Social Security Numbers, dates of birth, etc.) or payment of fines or fees over the phone for failure to respond to a subpoena.  In the course of these phone calls, the caller may claim that an order has been issued by a federal Judge, in some cases using the names of an actual Rhode Island federal Judge specifically. 

The calls are scam and recipients should not provide personal or financial information to the callers. Rhode Islanders are urged not respond to these callers in any way.

 U.S. District Court orders are sent by U.S. Mail, and are not communicated to the recipient over the phone; the court will not contact you by phone to collect personal information.  Individuals who have questions about the authenticity of a court order or who receive a Court-related communication that you believe to be fraudulent or questionable should contact the United States District Court at (401) 752-7200.

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