U.S. District Court CM/ECF Scam Alert

Federal Courts have reported numerous fake Notices of Electronic Filing (NEFs) being sent to attorneys and law firms across the country. These fake NEFs are phishing attempts to convince recipients to respond back to the emails. Once a recipient replies to the email, they are sent a follow-up email containing a link to access a document that leads the user to a malicious website. We encourage all users and court customers to take caution if they receive these fake NEFs. Please be sure to validate cases and case documentation through CM/ECF only, and do not download any attachments or click any links from unofficial or questionable sources.

WARNING! SCAM ALERT

The United States District Court and the United States Marshals Service have recently been made aware of various fraudulent phone calls and mailings,  all purported to be from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Please note that the District Court will ALWAYS initiate contact with the public via the United States Postal Service. Additionally, federal courts do not require anyone to provide any sensitive information in a telephone call or via e-mail. If you have not previously had contact from the Court via mail, but you have received any of the following: (1) a call regarding fines for failure to appear, (2) an email that you have been selected for jury duty, or (3) text messages regarding jury duty, please disregard as these are all SCAMS.

The U.S. Marshals Service urges the public not to divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers, even if they sound legitimate.  If you believe you may have been a victim of one of these calls, you are encouraged to report the incident to your local law enforcement department, the local U.S. Marshals Service, or FBI office. For additional information regarding possible scams, please see U.S. Marshals, FBI Urge Public: Report Phone Scams | U.S. Marshals Service (usmarshals.gov).

If you have any questions or need assistance, please call or email the Court at:

Cincinnati    513-564-7500     clerks office@ohsd.uscourts.gov
Columbus    614-719-3000     clerks office@ohsd.uscourts.gov
Dayton         937-512-1400     clerks office@ohsd.uscourts.gov