The FBI Norfolk Division is warning consumers to be on alert for a phone scam, primarily targeting college students, in which the incoming call shows up on caller ID as an FBI phone number.

The FBI has received multiple complaints from students at various colleges and universities alerting to a phone scam in which someone claiming to represent the U.S. government threatens to arrest them if they fail to pay thousands of dollars. In each case, the threats are associated with false claims ranging from money owed for student loans to delinquent taxes and overdue parking tickets.

During each attempt, the caller has claimed to have specific student information in order to obtain personally identifiable information, and the originating number appears on students’ caller ID as the phone number for a local FBI field office.

The public is reminded that the FBI does not call private citizens requesting money, and citizens should never provide sensitive, personal, or financial information to unsolicited callers.

Anyone who receives these calls is advised to disconnect immediately and notify the FBI by filing a complaint online through the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.IC3.gov/complaint.