The Ada County Sheriff’s Office has issued a warning about a phone scam. Fraudsters are pretending to be deputies from the Sheriff’s Office and threatening to arrest individuals for reasons like missed jury duty, civil judgments, or unpaid tax bills. They then demand payment to cancel the arrest warrant, asking victims to deposit money in a Bitcoin or Coinstar machine, or on a pre-paid credit card.
The scammers reportedly use names of non-existent deputies, such as ‘Sgt. Eric Bradley’, and phone numbers with a 208 area code to appear more credible. In the latest scam version, victims are asked to deposit money at Bitcoin on Coinstar machines in convenience or grocery stores. They are then instructed to send that money to a virtual wallet on the machine or purchase a pre-paid credit card, load it with money, and call a phone number with the card information.
The Sheriff’s Office has stated that their deputies will never call and threaten to arrest individuals or ask for money to be wired or transferred electronically. If a deputy needed to issue an arrest warrant or file a civil judgment, they would attempt to find the individual in person and leave call-back cards before making a phone call.