The Clerk’s Office has become aware of a recent scam in which an individual receives a phone call stating that they have failed to appear for a court proceeding and that they stand to be arrested unless they provide certain confidential data or pay a fine.  Further complicating the matter is that the calls appear to be legitimate court numbers, but are, in fact, bogus, as technology is being used to spoof the Caller ID system.

Federal courts do not require anyone to provide sensitive information in a telephone call, including requests for social security numbers or credit card numbers. It is a crime for anyone to falsely represent himself or herself as a federal court official and such an offense is taken very seriously by the federal judiciary.
 
Persons receiving such a telephone call should not provide the requested information or pay any fines and should contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at (502) 263-6000 to report the incident.  Individuals may also contact the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky at 502-625-3500 to verify that there are no matters pending before this court in their name.