PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is warning of a rise in a type of a phone scam aimed at targeting the loved ones of those in custody.
Criminals are impersonating sheriff’s deputies, and in some cases, bail bondsmen, asking for money to be transferred via Bitcoin in order to release someone on bond.
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“You are taking advantage of people at their lowest,” said Laura Hearle, whose family was scammed.
Hearle said her niece was arrested in the spring, and the same evening, her family received a call from a man claiming to be a Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputy…