Eileen Massie from Lafayette says she recently received a call from someone claiming to be a deputy marshal. The caller left a message saying that she missed jury duty and would be arrested.

She says, “I called 911, actually, and I told them I was left a message by a deputy marshal Riley Scott, who said it was about some civil matter, and that I was concerned.”

Authorities informed Massie that the caller was an impersonator attempting to get her to give up personal information over the phone, and that it’s an issue that has been happening all over the area.

News 10’s Rebeca Marroquin spoke to the Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court, Louis Perret, who says that ”never ever absolutely positively” will the Clerk of Court Office ask anyone for money over the phone.

He also said that unfortunately, fraudulent calls such as this one have been occurring about every six months for the past four years. His advice to those receiving the calls– try to get as much information from the caller as possible and report it to authorities.

When Massie tried to call the number from which she received the fraudulent call, she got a ‘disconnected number’ message. Officials told her that scammers use computer-generated numbers that can change from day to day.

Because you can’t track them through those numbers, troopers encourage anyone who gets a fake call to contact the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigation at 225-925-3703 or the Louisiana State Analytical and Fusion Center (LA-SAFE) at 225-925-4192.