By Laura Yuen

MPR.org/90.1 FM

Edina police are warning residents about an unusual scam apparently intended to get people out of their homes.

Three residents have reported receiving calls from someone purporting to be a deputy U.S. marshal. The supposed marshal tells the residents that they need to turn themselves in and that they should leave their homes immediately, but stay on the line to confirm they’ve left.

But supervisory deputy Chris Clifford from the U.S. marshal’s office in Minneapolis says that’s not how his department would serve federal warrants.

“We don’t call. If you have a warrant, we’re not going to call you up and say, ‘Come down to the marshal’s office and turn yourself in,’” Clifford said. “You’ll get an official letter from us, or you’ll get a knock on your door. Somehow you’ll get a visit from us.”

Officials are seeing more and more of this kind of hoax, Clifford said.

He’s not sure about the motive behind it, but says it could be intended to get people to leave so the callers could then break into their homes.

Anyone who receives this kind of call should hang up and call 911.