County officials tell 3News ways you and your loved ones can avoid falling victim.

NUECES COUNTY, Texas — County officials are warning residents to stay vigilant after an elderly woman was scammed out of $9,000 last week through a scheme involving a fraudulent arrest warrant and a Bitcoin ATM.

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Nueces County Judge Connie Scott said the victim was targeted by scammers who convinced her that she had an active warrant and needed to pay immediately or face additional penalties.

“She was told that there was a warrant for her arrest and if she didn’t go down to the kiosk and pay this money immediately that it was going to even increase,” Scott said.

The “kiosk” Scott was referring to is a Bitcoin ATM, a machine that converts U.S. dollars into the unregulated cryptocurrency. The woman followed the scammers’ instructions, withdrawing and converting roughly $9,000 into Bitcoin.

Scott said scammers even used her name and falsified documents to convince the victim the threat was real.

“But I did see the documents that had her name on it and unfortunately my name was used as well on that which just breaks my heart that anybody is scammed using my name,” Scott said.

Scott’s office also noted it is choosing not to disclose any personal information about the victim at her request.

Because the transaction was made in Bitcoin, recovering the funds will be nearly impossible, according to law enforcement.

Nueces County Sheriff J.C. Hooper said these types of scams often originate far outside the region — and sometimes outside the country.

“These perpetrators will never be caught because you can’t track them. They’re not here in town, most of the time they’re not here in the state and sometimes they’re not even in the country,” Hooper said.

Hooper also said scammers have recently impersonated his office in phone scams, using real deputies’ names or spoofed caller ID information to make the calls seem legitimate.

“This is a recording of an example scam call impersonating the sheriff’s office,” Hooper said in one of the examples shared with 3NEWS.

He said these schemes are growing increasingly sophisticated.

“If you call us, right, you’ll know that you’re talking to us but if you accept a call from someone claiming to be a deputy, and you know what? A lot of times they’ll use a real deputy’s name. They can go to our social media accounts and they can get the real name of Nueces County sheriff’s deputies,” Hooper said.

Scott and Hooper both emphasized that no government entity — local, state or federal — will ever demand payment through Bitcoin, gift cards, text messages or other unconventional methods.

“If you have a warrant for your arrest or you go to court they usually send you downstairs to take care of your fine immediately. We do not send those through the mail, we won’t send you a text message, we don’t ask you to go to the kiosk,” Scott said.

Residents are urged to hang up on suspicious calls, not click on unfamiliar links and verify any claims directly by contacting the appropriate agency themselves.

If you or someone you know believe you’ve been targeted by a scam, call CCPD’s non-emergency line at 361-886-2600.