SAN ANTONIO – An uptick in jury duty scams has prompted the sheriff’s office to issue an alert warning that victims are being tricked out of thousands of dollars, sometimes after being shown fake documents.
The sheriff said scammers are targeting people by convincing them they have a warrant for their arrest for missing jury duty. In one case last month, the sheriff said a 64-year-old woman was scammed out of $25,000.
According to the sheriff, the woman received a phone call that appeared to come from BCSO’s non-emergency number. She was told she had a failure-to-appear summons and was under a gag order, meaning she could not talk to anyone, and the scammers kept her on the phone.
“They requested her to go to several different locations and go to these ATM’s, BTM’s [Bitcoin ATM’s] and make deposits to pay her fine,” the sheriff said. “Unbenost to her, she was actually purchasing Bitcoin, is what she was doing.”
The sheriff warned that law enforcement will never call to tell someone they have a warrant for their arrest. The sheriff also said that if someone has a fine to pay, it will not be handled at a grocery or convenience store.
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The sheriff also shared a letter sent to the City Council seeking an ordinance that would require signage on bitcoin teller machines warning users about the potential for scams.