LINN COUNTY, Iowa (KWWL) – The Sheriff received several reports of scammers pretending to be Sheriff employees telling victims they missed jury duty and now have a warrant for their arrest.
The scammers then tell the victim they can remove the warrant by submitting payment via Bitcoin/cryptocurrency kiosk, deposit the money and scan a QR code sent to them.
Other victims are told to come to the Sheriff’s Office after they deposit the money to make the scam more legitimate.
Law enforcement agencies will never request payment for a citation/warrant through these types of kiosks or ask you to buy gift cards to keep you out of jail.
The Sheriff warns residents these scammers sound very convincing. When in doubt, hang up on the caller and contact your local law enforcement agency.