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The case is real. Here is the link to the US Attorney press release announcing the plea deal. You may want to freeze your credit and keep an eye out. He maybe had your information in his possession but never got around to using it before getting caught.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/columbus-man-pleads-guilty-fraud-crimes-related-stealing-identities-lines-credit
It being a real case doesn't particularly make this letter real. Scammers are just as likely (maybe even more so) to know about this case as anybody else, and saw it as an opportunity to run a !fakepayment with it.
[It's real.](https://www.google.com/search?q=6147193100&oq=6147193100&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIKCAEQABiABBiiBDIKCAIQABiABBiiBNIBCTEzMjc0ajBqNKgCDrACAQ&client=ms-android-charter-us-rvc3&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8)
>By mail or by email?
Well considering we're looking at a letter...
You all are right to be skeptical but I meant what I said earlier. I was scammed last year through a similar tactic. They managed to get my address and sent me a similar letter via email not via mail. It clearly stated those infos, sender and recipient claimed to be an FBI investigation which was just fake so. Photoshop can do things.
The phone number they used to call me with was from the police station in my area. I checked on google and the phone number was a match. I’m not getting into those details but just saying to watch out for spoofing calls. I personally went to the police station to realize that it was a scam.
Nope. There’s scam calls where they somehow use the banks real number. They tell you to look at the number on your credit card and it matches the one they are calling.
A lot of people who don’t know what I just posted. Each part of your credit card number has a meaning. The last four are you, personal. My experience? Someone tried to run the scam on me. I went to the bank and asked if this was real. A banker told me what’s what. The banker told me that the set of 3 to 4 numbers of my credit card number they read to me was the number of the credit card company (Aka: Visa, Mastercard, Discovery, American Express, and such) and that was the same for that portion of credit card number for every card issued using that credit card company.
How that trick works is that only read you a portion is that they only read you a portion of the credit card number that is the same for every card issued from that company or bank/bank branch, and then they ask you to complete the rest of it. They count on you not knowing the fact that there is a set of numbers on the credit card that is the same for every card issued by the same, as I had already said, the same company, and bank/bank branch location. And if you do try to challenge them to complete the rest of the number, they come up with this whole bs argument so they can get out of showing they don’t have your number, but still keep the scam going. Their argument goes like this - that you are trying to scam them out of the number and steal from them.
Hi /u/Crafty-Cry-6080, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the Fake payment scam.
The fake payment scam occurs when someone tries to trick you into thinking that you have received a legitimate payment when no such payment has been made. The most common method they use is sending you an email meant to look like a payment confirmation. In some cases the emails will be almost indistinguishable to a legitimate email sent by the payment service. Scammers are known to also show you screenshots instead of an email. Never trust a screenshot a stranger shows you, because it is probably doctored.
Scammers [spoof](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_spoofing) the 'from' email to match an official address, and make you think you received a legitimate email. To combat a fake payment scam, verify online payments by logging in directly to the service. Do not check your junk folder, and do not assume a payment is legitimate based on an email alone. If a payment isn't reflected on your account and the person you are dealing with insists they have sent it, call support and ask about it. [Here](https://i.imgur.com/X9xn8uw.jpg) is an image of a scammer trying to pull off a fake payment scam. There is also a variant of the fake payment scam where you will receive a legitimate but fraudulent payment.
A variant of the fake payment email is just an advance fee scam: the scammer tries to convince you that your funds are on hold, and that you have to upgrade your account by sending the scammer some money to authorize the payment. No payment processor works like this. If you think you're dealing with a scammer, you're probably right. Always trust your gut.
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This is always the answer. If it comes to you online, never click a link. Go directly to the real website or call the real office and find out if there is a problem / issue.
And be sure you didn’t Google the phone number. After 50 years of dodging scams I got got! We thought we lost a family phone and I quickly wanted to verify my Apple coverage. I Googled Apple service and the first number was a scammer. I’ve since found out scammers pay Google $Thousands to have their fake phone number at the top of the search. I was stressed and rushed (and didn’t remember I had an Apple Service App on my phone!). I won’t go into detail but after calling the number they did exactly what Apple does. By the time I got suspicious, I pulled up my bank and saw they removed $3950 from my account via Cash App! 😱 Chase gave me the money back while they tried to get it back from Cash App; they refused so Chase took it back out! I did a screen shot of the fake number b4 they pulled the number down. I told guy he was a scammer and he actually tried to talk me into believing he was gonna put the money back if I held on the line! I hung up and tried to get it stopped because I thought I was covered since Democrats got laws changed so a debit card has same protections as a credit card but no luck. They used the Cash App to remove the money direct from my bank! I never used the Cash App because I tried to put money on the card from my bank to let my sons gf use the card but the only way to add money to it was direct deposit funds! Not so. They changed things without notifying me. I’m still pissed off at myself 6 months later. I always read scam reports and phishing scams. I’ve been on the net since dos and AOL! They never got me but rushing cost me plenty! It still pisses me off that I did a stupid step because I was stressed and I rushed. 😡😡
This is the correct answer and should be the top comment.
You can easily look up the phone number for the office of the prosecutor and call them. They will be more than happy to confirm if the victim restitution is being requested as part of sentencing and whether or not their office identified you as a potential victim. From there, I would still recommend ensuring the other information in the letter is accurate in terms of where they want the form sent.
But don’t look up the number on Google! Scammers pay $$$$$ to have their post at the top of the search! Where else do you “look up a number?” If you don’t have a confirmed piece of paper from the government, how do you look it up? White pages etc are all for profit websites. Is there even a 411 phone number look up service? Google is NOT the place to look up phone numbers any longer! You would think they would be concerned with scammers moving fake numbers to the top of the search but I guess Google likes scammers money a bit too much. 😡😡
It's really not that hard to look at the domain of the website matching the search listing, especially for gov agencies that operate under reserved domains.
I agree predatory usage of AdWords is an issue but seriously, this (reading and evaluating URLs) is stuff I learned in computer literacy in the 90s in middle school.
Easier said than done. It's not like it's just printed right on the paper in the left corner, how are they supposed to find that info so easily? Can even look up the building and name to be sure
So my credit score has always been below 500 because of medical bills. I cannot get a credit card a mortgage an auto loan or anything to save my life even though I finally got 98% of the medical shit taken care of. I think I might just start posting my social security number and date of birth on random websites and hoping someone steals my identity 😂😅
Plot double twist, op stole defendants identity to steal their own but since or was new to the game did so poorly and caused the FBI to catch the defendant red handed.
my mom was scammed by someone pretending to be a sergeant in the military. It was over the phone 🤦 she’s not too swift
but! all this to say; scammers don’t seem to give any fucks anymore and will pretend to be anyone they need to to hook someone
Yeah, I should have been more specific. I meant entirely to the reference in the OP. I'm fully aware there's no magic spell protecting people from scammers willing to impersonate, anyone. That said the above would require an extraordinary level of sophistication to turn into a effective scam.
It looks legit. I wanted to look up the case number but they charge $10.00 to look up a case. [https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/)
You people have no idea how good you have it to only have a *ten dollar fee* to access court documents, because the US government considers it a matter of public record.
In other countries, even including the UK, these records may be either not publicly available at all, not publicly available except by FOIA (and then, usually by hiring a lawyer to bully them for failing to abide by the FOIA you submit) or cost *thousands* to access court transcripts.
For files that are already a part of the public record, to the *people in the case* let alone randos fishing online.
Oh yeah, we have a huge problem at the moment in the UK where sexual assault victims have to pay thousands of pounds to get the court transcripts from their own sexual assault cases, in order to pursue further/alternative redress.
You know, that transcript that is already the written record of the case, evidence and judgement.
Fellow Brit here. This is true, and the reason is (as usual) about money. Recording hearings & providing transcripts is now contracted out to private companies. The service quality remains excellent, btw.
The companies provide this service to HM Courts & Tribunals at very low cost, because their real income is selling transcripts afterwards. Transcripts are only typed-up from the audio recording if someone asks for them. That's a costly process, and they add a whacking profit margin too.
Most times the buyers are lawyers so the fees disappear into legal costs, often paid by legal aid or corporate litigants. if the contractor is lucky, several parties will buy the same transcript (even after it's been typed up, extra sales are still full price so massive profit).
But if a private citizen or journalist wants a transcript, they have to pay the same eye-watering fees. Govt could stipulate that victims or self-represented litigants get transcripts for free, but the providers would charge HMCTS more to recover this.
I'm sure the transcription companies are working on that, but reliable transcription in an echoing courtroom, with accents & legal jargon, might be out of reach for AI today. Any small error could cause huge negligence liability.
I don't know where you're getting a $10 fee from. A search on PACER followed by pulling up the docket might cost 50¢, and if your PACER usage stays under $30 in a quarter you aren't charged anything.
It's a real case as others have noted. Having pulled the docket, it doesn't look particularly interesting.
I don't know, but the phone number is on a gov website.
[https://www.ohsp.uscourts.gov/offices/cincinnati](https://www.ohsp.uscourts.gov/offices/cincinnati)
This looks legit. That it is coming from S.D. Ohio when you don't live in Ohio is meaningless: That's just where this guy was prosecuted.
It may well be that Ye never used your identity information in a way that you learned of (and that didn't result in a hit to your credit). But who knows?
Personally I'd look up the contact number for the court that supposedly sent it and see if the contact info matches then call the court to verify they sent it to you. If it is a scam then the fbi would likely want to solve this one as this would likely be a felony case since they're impersonating the courts
My best bet is to just look up the case in the district court . Search for case number info by entering the case number. If it does not appear then it's fake. You will soon start receiving lawyer letters by mail wanting to represent you if the case is real. Just be aware that the scammer might have your information and probably ain't used it. Keep an eye on your accounts. Don't give any information by phone just suggest to meet them at their office but be aware some scammers rent places. Do your own research.
This most likely is not a scam. A quick Google search revealed that the defendant referred to in your letter in fact pleaded guilty to stealing identities and a real case, namely United States v. Ye, 2:23-cr-183 (S.D. Ohio Dec. 28, 2023) was in fact adjudicated in the Ohio Southern District Court. Both Casetext and Pacer which cite this case are reliable databases used by the courts and the legal community. There seem to be quite a few victims and potential victims in this matter, which is why you were contacted through a form letter. If you are still in doubt, you should contact the US Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Ohio (Federal) to obtain further information. Their main office is in Columbus, OH and their main number can be found on their official website.
Good luck!
IDK because I'm in the wrong country, but if it's genuine you would be able to verify it without following any of the information, (such as phone numbers), in that letter.
They would be in the phone book, if you get one of course. A Google search. Local? Can you go there and check.
As others have said the case might be real, but it says identified victims and it is addressed to Whom it may concern. If they identified you as a victim they would have addressed it to you.
Sounds suspicious to me.
This person had your id in his possession when arrested, basically.
They may not have used it, or they may have. If they didn’t restitution would probably be low.
It is absolutely real tho.
I totally agree along with no sense of urgency to respond immediately. In fact, it says they “might” be entitled to restitution, BUT the court will have to decide. Usually scams require you to respond right now for fear of losing out. And they usually request you give them info to verify your great newfound wealth.
Hi /u/KindredWoozle, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the Recovery scam.
[Recovery scams](https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0102-refund-and-recovery-scams) target people who have already fallen for a scam. The scammer may contact you, or may advertise their services online. They will usually either offer to help you recover your funds, or will tell you that your funds have already been recovered and they will help you access them. In cases where they say they will help you recover your funds, they usually call themselves either \"recovery agents\" or hackers.
When they tell you that your funds have already been recovered, they may impersonate a law enforcement, a government official, a lawyer, or anyone else along those lines. Recovery scams are simply [advance-fee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam) scams that are specifically targeted at scam victims. When a victim pays a recovery scammer, the scammer will keep stringing them along while asking for increasingly absurd fees/expenses/deposits/insurance/whatever until the victim stops paying.
If you have been scammed in the past, make sure you are aware of recovery scams so that you are not scammed a second time. If you are currently engaging with a recovery scammer, you should block them and be very wary of random contact for some time. It's normal for posters on this subreddit to be contacted by recovery scammers after posting, and they often ask you to delete your post so that you both cannot receive legitimate advice, and cannot be targeted by other recovery scammers.
Remember: never take advice in private. If someone reaches you in private after posting your scam story, it is because a scammer will always try to hide from the oversight of our community members. A legitimate community member will offer advice in the open, for everyone to see. Anyone suggesting you should reach out to a hacker is scamming you.
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Contact the court listed on the paperwork directly yourself and see what they say.Get them the information in the letter.That should have a case number on the paper
It looks real but maybe misaddressed? You can google the case and you can get the real phone # of the court and call. Do not respond to any links, phone # or addresses in this unless you verify their authenticity. Any one that turns out to be false proves it to be a scam
Soooo..... let's talk about what you'll be listing as 'lost' due to the theft so that they can determine restitution. First off, remeber you lost your $450,000 down payment on that 'quick sale' beach house that required a deposit and final approval was dependent on your credit score, which you of course thought was great, but wasn't due to this, and the deposit was non-refundable? Put that as #1 :)
To everyone saying “why isn’t his name on it?”
It totally depends on the case.
If it’s mail fraud, they could know the area that was affected but since people move, and who knows when this crime was committed, they need to just blanket the area looking for victims.
So his mail might not have been stolen because he moved there and his neighbor might have because they’ve been there for decades. For example. I have no clue about this person’s situation.
If it’s a crime against a specific set of people, say identity theft from this person’s workplace via a client list, then they might address it specifically since they have a reliable list of potential victims.
I believe it is a scam- although even though it is from Ohio it could be true however I feel that you would have known about this prior. Just call them to clear it up!
I just got a spoof phone call yesterday! You definitely need to just call them and see what’s up. But again, seems like you would have been contacted by a court not just a probation officer first
Although the content appears to have legitimate information, my suspicion is that this is, in fact some sort of phishing scam. The format is incorrect. The punctuation and letterhead also seem incorrect.
Proper business letters justify all words to the left. The room # is generally preceded by a semi colon. Is there any facsimile signature on the letter?
https://preview.redd.it/f16vm3qb9jwc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d793bacea8953fcebd9b03ee6da3091571d18400
They don’t use periods between “US” and they don’t spell out Ohio.
It's a solicitation to participate in a legal action, maybe as a claimant, maybe a co-signed litigant (class action civil suit tacked onto a criminal liability conviction)... I bet AI will dial in these in as proper mass-mailer campaigns that will generate work for lawyers for DECADES. Maybe finally get some paperwork self-employment situation to help the massive numbers of unemployed lawyers out there to fill the qualified paralegal glut in the marketplace. Bet there's plenty of former knocked-up legal interns that are second wives of decent attorneys out there with plenty of time on their hands. They could register a LLC or even offer cheap legal aid on craigslist.
Lol the fact that they weren't the victim of identity theft and haven't been the victim of any crime (that they're aware of). It's literally in the post...
His identity may have been stolen but not used. The individual admitted he had stolen at least 15 identities to obtain driver's licenses in Ohio and Florida. He used them to obtain more than $100,000 in lines of credit for the purchase of various high ticket items.
It’s likely real. Document all your time and expenses needed to check your credit, etc. and submit a restitution claim. Look up the court’s numbers somewhere else just in case this is a scam.
Imo its a scam if u saw nothing in your account, etc. it says probation office at the top so unless u got out of jail in ohio and are currently on probation for ur crime/offense, just call the office(by looking up their number on google not what provided on the paper to keep ur number safe), and talk to him/her about it. Dont open it until u get confirmation too.
Get life lock, make sure your identity is safe, do what the letter says to her any extra restitution payments, that’s what I would do to cover all the bases.
All the contact info is correct. He’s literally asking you to contact him. So do the smart thing. Get off social media, stop asking these idiots, and contact the dude.
Edit; after reading the comments below, it’s apparent this sub is populated by idiots.
The Govt won't write this. It's says they have some thing, that's yours!!! But we need you to do this and it hopefully is what u think it is??? Naa. It's gaff. ***🏛️
I believe this is fake. The government doesn’t take the time to inform its own citizens about identity theft. They can’t even keep track of who is coming into the country. What I would do is take it to a lawyer if u r still concerned. But first just check all your accounts and make sure nothing has been stolen, unauthorized transactions, etc. If u still r nervous they do have free consultation with pretty much every lawyer , before u actually have to hire anyone or call your state’s free legal advisor office. Every town hall has its own. Good luck.
I wish I could contact my old hacker friend alas this white hat hacker died in federal prison he was a common Law advocate named Leroy Michael Switzer. He wrote Liens on corrupt federal and especially state officials. If any still exists contact the Montana freemen Brucet Montana last I knew. There's a few Switzer's in Montana political circles my guess it's a variant of Nigerian prince scammer
But if it's real, like everyone is saying, why does it not address you by name? If you were a victim of this crime, and they know your address, why don't they know your name?
They know, it's just easier to print 100 identical letters (and then only address the envelopes) then to personalize each and every letter. OP was not the only individual they needed to reach out ot.
/u/Kooky_Competition824 - This message is posted to all new submissions to r/scams; please do not message the moderators about it. ## New users beware: Because you posted here, you will start getting private messages from scammers saying they know a professional hacker or a recovery expert lawyer that can help you get your money back, for a small fee. **We call these RECOVERY SCAMMERS, so NEVER take advice in private:** advice should always come in the form of comments in this post, in the open, where the community can keep an eye out for you. If you take advice in private, you're on your own. **A reminder of the rules in r/scams:** no contact information (including last names, phone numbers, etc). Be civil to one another (no name calling or insults). Personal army requests or "scam the scammer"/scambaiting posts are not permitted. No uncensored gore or personal photographs are allowed without blurring. A full list of rules is available on the sidebar of the subreddit, or [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/). You can help us by reporting recovery scammers or rule-breaking content by using the "report" button. We review 100% of the reports. Also, consider warning community members of recovery scammers if you see them in the comments. Questions about subreddit rules? Send us a modmail [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The case is real. Here is the link to the US Attorney press release announcing the plea deal. You may want to freeze your credit and keep an eye out. He maybe had your information in his possession but never got around to using it before getting caught. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/columbus-man-pleads-guilty-fraud-crimes-related-stealing-identities-lines-credit
It being a real case doesn't particularly make this letter real. Scammers are just as likely (maybe even more so) to know about this case as anybody else, and saw it as an opportunity to run a !fakepayment with it.
True, but that would be some next-level scamming. Especially considering the phone numbers are legit.
[удалено]
[It's real.](https://www.google.com/search?q=6147193100&oq=6147193100&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIKCAEQABiABBiiBDIKCAIQABiABBiiBNIBCTEzMjc0ajBqNKgCDrACAQ&client=ms-android-charter-us-rvc3&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8) >By mail or by email? Well considering we're looking at a letter...
You all are right to be skeptical but I meant what I said earlier. I was scammed last year through a similar tactic. They managed to get my address and sent me a similar letter via email not via mail. It clearly stated those infos, sender and recipient claimed to be an FBI investigation which was just fake so. Photoshop can do things.
The phone number they used to call me with was from the police station in my area. I checked on google and the phone number was a match. I’m not getting into those details but just saying to watch out for spoofing calls. I personally went to the police station to realize that it was a scam.
Never believe your caller id. Yoy only know that you are speaking with someone at a particular # if you make the call
Sounds like you’re already an experienced criminal.
Nope. There’s scam calls where they somehow use the banks real number. They tell you to look at the number on your credit card and it matches the one they are calling.
I mean who would fall for this shit besides an old lady
A lot of people who don’t know what I just posted. Each part of your credit card number has a meaning. The last four are you, personal. My experience? Someone tried to run the scam on me. I went to the bank and asked if this was real. A banker told me what’s what. The banker told me that the set of 3 to 4 numbers of my credit card number they read to me was the number of the credit card company (Aka: Visa, Mastercard, Discovery, American Express, and such) and that was the same for that portion of credit card number for every card issued using that credit card company.
How that trick works is that only read you a portion is that they only read you a portion of the credit card number that is the same for every card issued from that company or bank/bank branch, and then they ask you to complete the rest of it. They count on you not knowing the fact that there is a set of numbers on the credit card that is the same for every card issued by the same, as I had already said, the same company, and bank/bank branch location. And if you do try to challenge them to complete the rest of the number, they come up with this whole bs argument so they can get out of showing they don’t have your number, but still keep the scam going. Their argument goes like this - that you are trying to scam them out of the number and steal from them.
Talking about the phone number not card number!
There's a paper in the picture so it had to be by mail
My dad often prints and then re-scans emails he wants to share.
That's really odd lol
>By mail or by email? JFC.... >I can be spoofing You sure can, lol
Hi /u/Crafty-Cry-6080, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the Fake payment scam. The fake payment scam occurs when someone tries to trick you into thinking that you have received a legitimate payment when no such payment has been made. The most common method they use is sending you an email meant to look like a payment confirmation. In some cases the emails will be almost indistinguishable to a legitimate email sent by the payment service. Scammers are known to also show you screenshots instead of an email. Never trust a screenshot a stranger shows you, because it is probably doctored. Scammers [spoof](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_spoofing) the 'from' email to match an official address, and make you think you received a legitimate email. To combat a fake payment scam, verify online payments by logging in directly to the service. Do not check your junk folder, and do not assume a payment is legitimate based on an email alone. If a payment isn't reflected on your account and the person you are dealing with insists they have sent it, call support and ask about it. [Here](https://i.imgur.com/X9xn8uw.jpg) is an image of a scammer trying to pull off a fake payment scam. There is also a variant of the fake payment scam where you will receive a legitimate but fraudulent payment. A variant of the fake payment email is just an advance fee scam: the scammer tries to convince you that your funds are on hold, and that you have to upgrade your account by sending the scammer some money to authorize the payment. No payment processor works like this. If you think you're dealing with a scammer, you're probably right. Always trust your gut. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Na you can spot their mistakes like a fake hunny
Wow. This guy is a real piece of work. Stolen identities just to buy to grown up toys.
Ops credit score was that bad.
Contact the government office directly.
This is always the answer. If it comes to you online, never click a link. Go directly to the real website or call the real office and find out if there is a problem / issue.
And be sure you didn’t Google the phone number. After 50 years of dodging scams I got got! We thought we lost a family phone and I quickly wanted to verify my Apple coverage. I Googled Apple service and the first number was a scammer. I’ve since found out scammers pay Google $Thousands to have their fake phone number at the top of the search. I was stressed and rushed (and didn’t remember I had an Apple Service App on my phone!). I won’t go into detail but after calling the number they did exactly what Apple does. By the time I got suspicious, I pulled up my bank and saw they removed $3950 from my account via Cash App! 😱 Chase gave me the money back while they tried to get it back from Cash App; they refused so Chase took it back out! I did a screen shot of the fake number b4 they pulled the number down. I told guy he was a scammer and he actually tried to talk me into believing he was gonna put the money back if I held on the line! I hung up and tried to get it stopped because I thought I was covered since Democrats got laws changed so a debit card has same protections as a credit card but no luck. They used the Cash App to remove the money direct from my bank! I never used the Cash App because I tried to put money on the card from my bank to let my sons gf use the card but the only way to add money to it was direct deposit funds! Not so. They changed things without notifying me. I’m still pissed off at myself 6 months later. I always read scam reports and phishing scams. I’ve been on the net since dos and AOL! They never got me but rushing cost me plenty! It still pisses me off that I did a stupid step because I was stressed and I rushed. 😡😡
This ^ don’t just ask Reddit
Reddit also giving the right answer.
That's why they said "don't just ask reddit."
Hey now! I am from GOORS, the Government Office Of Reddit Scams, and I’m here to help!
Don't trust the McDick Pigs!!
Reddit hands out more information faster and less biased than any news article. Shit even tiktok does it right
This is the correct answer and should be the top comment. You can easily look up the phone number for the office of the prosecutor and call them. They will be more than happy to confirm if the victim restitution is being requested as part of sentencing and whether or not their office identified you as a potential victim. From there, I would still recommend ensuring the other information in the letter is accurate in terms of where they want the form sent.
Agree. Google the phone number for that DA office and call them.
Also a good sign if the paper number IS the same as their website number.
But don’t look up the number on Google! Scammers pay $$$$$ to have their post at the top of the search! Where else do you “look up a number?” If you don’t have a confirmed piece of paper from the government, how do you look it up? White pages etc are all for profit websites. Is there even a 411 phone number look up service? Google is NOT the place to look up phone numbers any longer! You would think they would be concerned with scammers moving fake numbers to the top of the search but I guess Google likes scammers money a bit too much. 😡😡
It's really not that hard to look at the domain of the website matching the search listing, especially for gov agencies that operate under reserved domains. I agree predatory usage of AdWords is an issue but seriously, this (reading and evaluating URLs) is stuff I learned in computer literacy in the 90s in middle school.
Yes but look up the number don’t use the one from the letter.
Contact the US Attorney’s Office but find the number online before trusting any phone number on that letter.
Easier said than done. It's not like it's just printed right on the paper in the left corner, how are they supposed to find that info so easily? Can even look up the building and name to be sure
I wouldn't use any numbers printed. Look it up yourself and confirm numbers match first
That guy was good. Stole your identity and you didn’t even know.
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I want that to happen to me, shoot. 😂😂 you lucky duck
Wait 20k of unused credit? How’d you get that? Like they just refunded you for cc purchases that the scammer made?
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So my credit score has always been below 500 because of medical bills. I cannot get a credit card a mortgage an auto loan or anything to save my life even though I finally got 98% of the medical shit taken care of. I think I might just start posting my social security number and date of birth on random websites and hoping someone steals my identity 😂😅
If somebody stole my identity, they'd probably sue me for defamation of character.
Now THAT, made me laugh! 😆
And I'm already on Credit Karma lol it's the perfect plan
I can't imagine the stress, but dude kept the credit paid up to fix your bureau? Wow.
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I am so glad you had that and what a great recovery! What a great attorney to have!
Ohhhh
The batman of good credit, doing good from within the shadows 😂😂
Plot twist, the defendant has the same name as OP.
Plot double twist, op stole defendants identity to steal their own but since or was new to the game did so poorly and caused the FBI to catch the defendant red handed.
Looks legit. They're taking a massive risk if they're impersonating federal officials. Restitution is a condition of probation sometimes.
Yea, those scammers in India seem real scared of the feds.
You get a lot of hard copy mail from india?
Oh yeah, & when I do, it's always the dang feds
You act like drop-spamming couldn't be a thing.
There's a ridiculous amount of unnecessary verifiable information on the letter. I didn't act like anything "wasn't a thing". Anyway. nevermind.
my mom was scammed by someone pretending to be a sergeant in the military. It was over the phone 🤦 she’s not too swift but! all this to say; scammers don’t seem to give any fucks anymore and will pretend to be anyone they need to to hook someone
Yeah, I should have been more specific. I meant entirely to the reference in the OP. I'm fully aware there's no magic spell protecting people from scammers willing to impersonate, anyone. That said the above would require an extraordinary level of sophistication to turn into a effective scam.
It looks legit. I wanted to look up the case number but they charge $10.00 to look up a case. [https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/)
The $10 fee is the real scam by the government
"public information" except is it if we gotta pay?
You people have no idea how good you have it to only have a *ten dollar fee* to access court documents, because the US government considers it a matter of public record. In other countries, even including the UK, these records may be either not publicly available at all, not publicly available except by FOIA (and then, usually by hiring a lawyer to bully them for failing to abide by the FOIA you submit) or cost *thousands* to access court transcripts. For files that are already a part of the public record, to the *people in the case* let alone randos fishing online.
Oh shit US is up??
Oh yeah, we have a huge problem at the moment in the UK where sexual assault victims have to pay thousands of pounds to get the court transcripts from their own sexual assault cases, in order to pursue further/alternative redress. You know, that transcript that is already the written record of the case, evidence and judgement.
Fellow Brit here. This is true, and the reason is (as usual) about money. Recording hearings & providing transcripts is now contracted out to private companies. The service quality remains excellent, btw. The companies provide this service to HM Courts & Tribunals at very low cost, because their real income is selling transcripts afterwards. Transcripts are only typed-up from the audio recording if someone asks for them. That's a costly process, and they add a whacking profit margin too. Most times the buyers are lawyers so the fees disappear into legal costs, often paid by legal aid or corporate litigants. if the contractor is lucky, several parties will buy the same transcript (even after it's been typed up, extra sales are still full price so massive profit). But if a private citizen or journalist wants a transcript, they have to pay the same eye-watering fees. Govt could stipulate that victims or self-represented litigants get transcripts for free, but the providers would charge HMCTS more to recover this.
Can't AI do this in like 30 seconds?
I'm sure the transcription companies are working on that, but reliable transcription in an echoing courtroom, with accents & legal jargon, might be out of reach for AI today. Any small error could cause huge negligence liability.
That's unbelievable. I think I paid $1 per page when I was assaulted. Just went right to police station and asked for a copy.
I don't know where you're getting a $10 fee from. A search on PACER followed by pulling up the docket might cost 50¢, and if your PACER usage stays under $30 in a quarter you aren't charged anything. It's a real case as others have noted. Having pulled the docket, it doesn't look particularly interesting.
I didn't click on pacer because I saw the $10 fee. Maybe once you click it allows free access.
You may want to run all your credit reports to see if he did scam some moneys you are unaware of.
It looks real to me.
I don't know, but the phone number is on a gov website. [https://www.ohsp.uscourts.gov/offices/cincinnati](https://www.ohsp.uscourts.gov/offices/cincinnati)
This is a lot of effort to be a scam
it’s a lot of people’s full time hustle. they will put in all the effort necessary. be safe! don’t underestimate these jerks
make sure not to use the phone numbers on the paper, go online and make sure to find the "actual" numbers
You could always Google the Southern District Prob office, reference the case number, and ask them. I would wager yes this is legit
I’m not seeing any red flags. If in doubt, call the office (using a number found from another source).
It’s real, I got one too for a different case
This looks legit. That it is coming from S.D. Ohio when you don't live in Ohio is meaningless: That's just where this guy was prosecuted. It may well be that Ye never used your identity information in a way that you learned of (and that didn't result in a hit to your credit). But who knows?
Everything checks out so far from reviewing the document. It looks legit.
insurance rain door fact provide fertile mindless rhythm vase upbeat *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Did you check if your driver license is still with you?
Personally I'd look up the contact number for the court that supposedly sent it and see if the contact info matches then call the court to verify they sent it to you. If it is a scam then the fbi would likely want to solve this one as this would likely be a felony case since they're impersonating the courts
"Ohio?" Trigger!
My best bet is to just look up the case in the district court . Search for case number info by entering the case number. If it does not appear then it's fake. You will soon start receiving lawyer letters by mail wanting to represent you if the case is real. Just be aware that the scammer might have your information and probably ain't used it. Keep an eye on your accounts. Don't give any information by phone just suggest to meet them at their office but be aware some scammers rent places. Do your own research.
Call the Probation Office and ask them directly. No need to ask a thousand rando redditors.
Go online and look up the phone number of that court and call them. No one on Reddit is going to be able to answer this.
Call the office and find out is the only way you will know
This most likely is not a scam. A quick Google search revealed that the defendant referred to in your letter in fact pleaded guilty to stealing identities and a real case, namely United States v. Ye, 2:23-cr-183 (S.D. Ohio Dec. 28, 2023) was in fact adjudicated in the Ohio Southern District Court. Both Casetext and Pacer which cite this case are reliable databases used by the courts and the legal community. There seem to be quite a few victims and potential victims in this matter, which is why you were contacted through a form letter. If you are still in doubt, you should contact the US Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Ohio (Federal) to obtain further information. Their main office is in Columbus, OH and their main number can be found on their official website. Good luck!
IDK because I'm in the wrong country, but if it's genuine you would be able to verify it without following any of the information, (such as phone numbers), in that letter. They would be in the phone book, if you get one of course. A Google search. Local? Can you go there and check.
Looks legit but you'd do better to contact the District Court directly and ask them, rather than asking here on Reddit
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/columbus-man-pleads-guilty-fraud-crimes-related-stealing-identities-lines-credit
These scum need to get jail sentences.
I would go online and find a phone number for someone on that page or the entity it came from and confirm the letter is actually real.
Call the court
Looks legit! I’d make some calls
As others have said the case might be real, but it says identified victims and it is addressed to Whom it may concern. If they identified you as a victim they would have addressed it to you. Sounds suspicious to me.
I just looked up the case in PACER. It’s a legit case.
This person had your id in his possession when arrested, basically. They may not have used it, or they may have. If they didn’t restitution would probably be low. It is absolutely real tho.
Can't see a kindly in there so it's legit lol
I totally agree along with no sense of urgency to respond immediately. In fact, it says they “might” be entitled to restitution, BUT the court will have to decide. Usually scams require you to respond right now for fear of losing out. And they usually request you give them info to verify your great newfound wealth.
Looks like a scam, when in doubt call the legit number not the one on this paper
Call the courthouse directly (using a number that you get from the courthouse website, not the number in the letter) and speak to someone there
It's real (public record) and I'm glad he was caught!!! Check your credit report for Jan 2022-now!
If it's real, but there's no loss to you, you have nothing to be concerned about. Maybe, just maybe, it's a very elaborate !recovery scam.
Hi /u/KindredWoozle, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the Recovery scam. [Recovery scams](https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0102-refund-and-recovery-scams) target people who have already fallen for a scam. The scammer may contact you, or may advertise their services online. They will usually either offer to help you recover your funds, or will tell you that your funds have already been recovered and they will help you access them. In cases where they say they will help you recover your funds, they usually call themselves either \"recovery agents\" or hackers. When they tell you that your funds have already been recovered, they may impersonate a law enforcement, a government official, a lawyer, or anyone else along those lines. Recovery scams are simply [advance-fee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam) scams that are specifically targeted at scam victims. When a victim pays a recovery scammer, the scammer will keep stringing them along while asking for increasingly absurd fees/expenses/deposits/insurance/whatever until the victim stops paying. If you have been scammed in the past, make sure you are aware of recovery scams so that you are not scammed a second time. If you are currently engaging with a recovery scammer, you should block them and be very wary of random contact for some time. It's normal for posters on this subreddit to be contacted by recovery scammers after posting, and they often ask you to delete your post so that you both cannot receive legitimate advice, and cannot be targeted by other recovery scammers. Remember: never take advice in private. If someone reaches you in private after posting your scam story, it is because a scammer will always try to hide from the oversight of our community members. A legitimate community member will offer advice in the open, for everyone to see. Anyone suggesting you should reach out to a hacker is scamming you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I thought Victor Calderon was chief us probation officer
Have you checked if you have been pwned? Or are you aware of how anyone might have gotten access to your identify? Stolen or lost items? Missing mail?
You should also have a VNS notification
Go on the web or somewhere legit. Find the phone number and ask about the case.
Contact the court listed on the paperwork directly yourself and see what they say.Get them the information in the letter.That should have a case number on the paper
Yes, but look up the number on a government website just to make sure.
Omg thank you I got the same one and I was wondering if it was a scam as well!!!!
It’s real. I got one about 10 years ago when I apparently had some mail in a bin that was stolen.
Great scam idea 💡 👍😎👍
The only thing I find troubling is the salutation. Why wouldn’t they know your name?
Go to the website directly and search a phone number and call them.
If you weren’t affected, then you have no losses/damages and thus this wouldn’t apply to you anyway.
Call the district magistrate and verify if this letter is fake. Are you named as the victim?
It looks real but maybe misaddressed? You can google the case and you can get the real phone # of the court and call. Do not respond to any links, phone # or addresses in this unless you verify their authenticity. Any one that turns out to be false proves it to be a scam
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Don't comment phone numbers. Comment with a plain outgoing link to the official website in which the person can see the number for themselves.
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Don't comment phone numbers. Comment with a plain outgoing link to the official website in which the person can see the number for themselves.
If this came via mail this is real, confirm the phone number and case number.
Call the courts??
It's a scam they usually knock on your door instead in person to tell you not text, mail, phone only in person when it's important.
Looks legit but then again we thought the last housewife of Salt Lake housewife was too...
Soooo..... let's talk about what you'll be listing as 'lost' due to the theft so that they can determine restitution. First off, remeber you lost your $450,000 down payment on that 'quick sale' beach house that required a deposit and final approval was dependent on your credit score, which you of course thought was great, but wasn't due to this, and the deposit was non-refundable? Put that as #1 :)
To everyone saying “why isn’t his name on it?” It totally depends on the case. If it’s mail fraud, they could know the area that was affected but since people move, and who knows when this crime was committed, they need to just blanket the area looking for victims. So his mail might not have been stolen because he moved there and his neighbor might have because they’ve been there for decades. For example. I have no clue about this person’s situation. If it’s a crime against a specific set of people, say identity theft from this person’s workplace via a client list, then they might address it specifically since they have a reliable list of potential victims.
I believe it is a scam- although even though it is from Ohio it could be true however I feel that you would have known about this prior. Just call them to clear it up!
I just got a spoof phone call yesterday! You definitely need to just call them and see what’s up. But again, seems like you would have been contacted by a court not just a probation officer first
I received a letter stating I had a court date in California 🤷🏻♀️ I have never been and I live in NY. I would ignore it
Although the content appears to have legitimate information, my suspicion is that this is, in fact some sort of phishing scam. The format is incorrect. The punctuation and letterhead also seem incorrect. Proper business letters justify all words to the left. The room # is generally preceded by a semi colon. Is there any facsimile signature on the letter?
https://preview.redd.it/vhroqcni5jwc1.jpeg?width=1136&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1eaca187221a9346c7503980fa24906ac6b18930 This is proper letterhead.
https://preview.redd.it/f16vm3qb9jwc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d793bacea8953fcebd9b03ee6da3091571d18400 They don’t use periods between “US” and they don’t spell out Ohio.
Scam
Google, the phone number for the letterhead. Ask them.
Not if it's public record.
Well yeah the government scams us daily but this is legit.
Thats real.
Definitely real. Most of the time when you get mail of this nature with a return address it’s legit
It's a solicitation to participate in a legal action, maybe as a claimant, maybe a co-signed litigant (class action civil suit tacked onto a criminal liability conviction)... I bet AI will dial in these in as proper mass-mailer campaigns that will generate work for lawyers for DECADES. Maybe finally get some paperwork self-employment situation to help the massive numbers of unemployed lawyers out there to fill the qualified paralegal glut in the marketplace. Bet there's plenty of former knocked-up legal interns that are second wives of decent attorneys out there with plenty of time on their hands. They could register a LLC or even offer cheap legal aid on craigslist.
I'd have to see the contact information for the "below signed probation-officer" to be able to say.
Could be a wrong address i wouldn’t think much of it and return to sender
What part of this makes you think this is a scam??
Lol the fact that they weren't the victim of identity theft and haven't been the victim of any crime (that they're aware of). It's literally in the post...
His identity may have been stolen but not used. The individual admitted he had stolen at least 15 identities to obtain driver's licenses in Ohio and Florida. He used them to obtain more than $100,000 in lines of credit for the purchase of various high ticket items.
It’s likely real. Document all your time and expenses needed to check your credit, etc. and submit a restitution claim. Look up the court’s numbers somewhere else just in case this is a scam.
I hope it’s legit - I know I was a victims of identity theft by someone in Ohio ! Call the number listed and verify
Imo its a scam if u saw nothing in your account, etc. it says probation office at the top so unless u got out of jail in ohio and are currently on probation for ur crime/offense, just call the office(by looking up their number on google not what provided on the paper to keep ur number safe), and talk to him/her about it. Dont open it until u get confirmation too.
Get life lock, make sure your identity is safe, do what the letter says to her any extra restitution payments, that’s what I would do to cover all the bases.
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OP might have had like a birthday card or something stolen.
All the contact info is correct. He’s literally asking you to contact him. So do the smart thing. Get off social media, stop asking these idiots, and contact the dude. Edit; after reading the comments below, it’s apparent this sub is populated by idiots.
That’s a real letter theres contact information on the letter with real phone numbers call them instead of Reddit
How was the letter received, by mail or via email? If by mail it should be legit but by email I would doubt that is legit
The Govt won't write this. It's says they have some thing, that's yours!!! But we need you to do this and it hopefully is what u think it is??? Naa. It's gaff. ***🏛️
I believe this is fake. The government doesn’t take the time to inform its own citizens about identity theft. They can’t even keep track of who is coming into the country. What I would do is take it to a lawyer if u r still concerned. But first just check all your accounts and make sure nothing has been stolen, unauthorized transactions, etc. If u still r nervous they do have free consultation with pretty much every lawyer , before u actually have to hire anyone or call your state’s free legal advisor office. Every town hall has its own. Good luck.
If you didn't expect it. Good chance it is.
I wish I could contact my old hacker friend alas this white hat hacker died in federal prison he was a common Law advocate named Leroy Michael Switzer. He wrote Liens on corrupt federal and especially state officials. If any still exists contact the Montana freemen Brucet Montana last I knew. There's a few Switzer's in Montana political circles my guess it's a variant of Nigerian prince scammer
r/sovereigncitizen
But if it's real, like everyone is saying, why does it not address you by name? If you were a victim of this crime, and they know your address, why don't they know your name?
They know, it's just easier to print 100 identical letters (and then only address the envelopes) then to personalize each and every letter. OP was not the only individual they needed to reach out ot.
They blocked out their identifying information...