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A police warrant bitcoin scam is a phone call from someone posing as a deputy, a court officer or a federal agent. They say you have a warrant, usually for missed jury duty, and that you'll be arrested today unless you pay a "bond" or "fine" at a bitcoin ATM. No real police department, sheriff or court collects money this way. Hang up, look up the agency's number yourself and call it. If the caller says you can't hang up, that settles it.
What is the police warrant bitcoin scam?
It's an old phone con with a new payment rail. The jury duty call used to end with gift cards or a wire. Now it ends at a crypto kiosk in a gas station, because a bitcoin ATM turns cash into something the caller can move overseas in minutes and nobody can reverse.
The FBI put a number on it this fall. In a public service announcement on September 17, 2026, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center said it received nearly 61,000 complaints about people impersonating law enforcement or government officials between January 2025 and July 2026, with losses of more than $1.6 billion. That works out to roughly $26,000 per complaint. The FBI lists the payment methods these callers demand: wires, prepaid cards, couriers, cryptocurrency and cash fed into crypto kiosks.
The FTC sees the same pattern from the other end. In the first half of 2024, about 86% of people who reported losing money through a bitcoin ATM said it was a government impersonation, business impersonation or tech support scam, according to the FTC's data spotlight on bitcoin ATMs. The fake cop and the crypto kiosk go together.
How the fake warrant call works, minute by minute
Local police reports from Tennessee to Texas to Pennsylvania describe the same call. It's a script, and it has a shape you can learn.
Step 1: a call that looks official. The caller ID shows the sheriff's office, the police department or the courthouse. That's spoofing, and it's cheap. In Curry County, New Mexico, a victim lost $900 after a scammer spoofed the sheriff's office number so the call appeared to come from the agency. Callers often use the name of a real deputy.
Step 2: the warrant. The most common story is missed jury duty. Others are a missed court date or a federal warrant. The FBI's September alert says these callers accuse victims of a crime and threaten arrest, prosecution or jail unless they pay. Some text or email a "warrant" with seals and a judge's signature.
Step 3: the gag order. You're told the case is sealed or under a gag order, so you can't tell your family, your bank or local police. The FBI says these scammers keep victims on the phone and tell them not to tell anyone. This is the biggest tell in the call. The secrecy exists to stop anyone from saying "that's a scam."
Step 4: the bank. You're told to withdraw cash, often thousands of dollars, while staying on the line. Some victims are coached on what to tell the teller. Tellers and store clerks stop a lot of these, which is why the caller wants you quiet.
Step 5: the kiosk. The caller sends you to a specific bitcoin ATM and texts you a QR code, described as a court payment system or a "secure government wallet." The FTC explains what actually happens: once you scan the scammer's QR code, the cash you deposit goes straight into the scammer's wallet. If you don't know how these machines work, our guide to how a bitcoin ATM works shows why a QR code someone else gave you is the problem.
Step 6: the second fee. The bond "didn't clear," or a second warrant turned up. The ask repeats until the cash runs out or someone interrupts.
Real warrant vs fake warrant call
Federal courts have put up warnings about this across the country. The US District Court for Maryland issued one in February 2026. The message is the same everywhere: courts don't call to demand money or threaten jail over jury duty, and a fine for skipping jury service is set by a judge in open court. Here's the difference side by side.
| What happens | Real police or court | The scam call |
|---|---|---|
| First contact about jury duty | A summons by mail, then a notice by mail if you miss it | A phone call, text or email out of nowhere |
| A missed jury date | A judge may order you to appear and explain, in court | "Pay now or deputies are on the way" |
| Payment | Fines are paid to the court clerk, never at a kiosk | Bitcoin ATM, gift cards, wire, cash courier |
| Secrecy | You can talk to anyone, including a lawyer | "Gag order," don't tell family or the bank |
| Hanging up | You can hang up and call back on the listed number | You must stay on the line the whole time |
| A copy of the warrant | Not sent to you by text or email | A PDF with seals and a signature, sent to your phone |
| An actual warrant | Officers arrest you. They don't phone ahead for a fee | The "arrest" can be cancelled for a payment |
⚠ Red flag
Any call that combines a threat of arrest, a demand for crypto or a kiosk, and an order to stay on the line is a scam. Every time. You don't need to work out which agency they claim to be from. Hang up.
How to check if you really have a warrant
The caller is counting on you not knowing how to check. It takes five minutes, and you can do it after you hang up.
- Hang up. A real officer won't object. If the caller says hanging up makes it worse, you have your answer.
- Find the number yourself. Look up the sheriff's or police department's non-emergency line on the agency's official website or a printed bill, not from the caller, a text or a search ad. Never call back the number on your caller ID.
- Ask the clerk of court. For jury duty, call the jury office of the court named in the "summons." For a federal warrant, the FBI's Denver office advises calling the clerk of the court identified on the warrant.
- Check your county's online court records. Many counties let you search cases by name. Your own county's site is the place to look, not a link from the caller.
- Tell one person. Say it out loud to a family member or the bank teller. The gag order only works while you keep it.
If you're still not sure whether a call, text or letter is real, run it through our is this a scam? quiz, or browse the other cons going around in our Scams hub. Fake IRS letters are a close cousin of this call, with a QR code instead of a deputy; our IRS crypto letter check covers that version.
Prefer to watch? The fake warrant call, step by step, in under a minute.
Read the video transcript
Police warrant bitcoin scam? Real cops never call. The FBI says fake police and government officials took more than one point six billion dollars from Americans between January 2025 and July 2026. Here's the script. One: your caller ID says Sheriff's Office. It's spoofed. Two: they say you missed jury duty and you'll be arrested today. Three: there's a gag order, so don't tell your family or your bank. Four: stay on the line, withdraw cash, and drive to a bitcoin ATM. Five: scan their QR code to post bond. That code is their wallet, and the cash is gone the moment it goes in. Then comes a second fee. Real courts send jury notices by mail, and a judge sets fines in open court. So hang up, look up the number yourself, and call back. What crime did your fake deputy say you committed? Comment below, and hit like and subscribe.
Who's behind the calls, and who they call
Sometimes it's an overseas call center. Sometimes it's a prison cell. In Texas, the Parker County Sheriff's Office charged suspects in Texas and Georgia over fake-deputy calls that took about $1.2 million from county residents, CBS Texas reported. Victims were told to clear warrants or missed jury duty by buying crypto at bitcoin ATMs and sending it to the scammers' wallets. The alleged ringleader is serving a 71-year sentence in a Georgia prison and, investigators say, ran the scheme on a smuggled cellphone.
The bigger losses cluster where the cash is. Murfreesboro police said in a March 2026 warning that fake officers claiming victims had missed a court date had taken nearly $4 million from dozens of people, many of them elderly, by sending them to withdraw cash and feed it into bitcoin ATMs. Tennessee's ban on crypto kiosks took effect on July 1, 2026, and in August, WSMV reported that the 30 Murfreesboro businesses police checked were complying.
Many of the victims in these police reports are older. If you're reading this for a parent, our companion guide on how to protect your parents from crypto scams covers the conversation, the bank settings and what to put by the phone.
Already paid? What to do now
- Stop paying. There is no second bond, release fee or clearance charge that brings the first payment back.
- Call the kiosk operator right away. The phone number is on the machine and the receipt. Speed matters. In Fayette County, Georgia, a store clerk stopped a couple partway through a jury duty "payment" of more than $12,000, they reported it at once, and deputies recovered the money, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. Some states now require refunds for new customers who report quickly. Our guide to bitcoin ATM scam refunds lists the state rules.
- Call your local police on the non-emergency line and ask for a report number. You'll need it for the operator, your bank and any refund claim.
- File with the FBI at ic3.gov, typed in by hand, and with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Include the kiosk location, the time, the receipt, the wallet address from the QR code and screenshots of the caller ID and any "warrant" they sent. Our guide on how to report a crypto scam walks through each form.
- Expect a follow-up call. Someone may phone later claiming to be the FBI, a lawyer or a recovery firm that can get your money back for a fee. That's a second scam. Read how crypto recovery scams work first.
Rob's take
I've held bitcoin since 2011 and I live in Belen, New Mexico, so the Curry County case landed close to home. What gets me is the uniform. The scam borrows the one authority most of us were raised never to argue with. So here's permission to argue. A real deputy with a real warrant doesn't call ahead to negotiate a price, and the law doesn't take payment by QR code. If someone in a badge tells you to hide a phone call from your own bank, they've told you who they are.
Police warrant bitcoin scam FAQ
Do police ever ask you to pay a fine in bitcoin?
No. No local, state or federal law enforcement agency asks you to pay a warrant, bond or fine in bitcoin, at a crypto ATM, with gift cards or by phone. The FBI says real officials will never contact you by phone or text to demand payment. Anyone who asks is a scammer.
Is a missed jury duty call a scam?
Almost always. Courts contact jurors by mail, and federal courts say they never call to demand money or threaten jail over missed jury duty. A fine for skipping jury service is set by a judge in open court. Hang up and call the court's jury office on a number you look up yourself.
Can scammers spoof the sheriff's phone number?
Yes. Caller ID spoofing lets a scammer make your phone show the real name and number of a sheriff's office, police department or courthouse. A familiar number proves nothing. Hang up and call the agency back on its published non-emergency line.
How do I check if I really have a warrant?
Call your local sheriff's office or police department on the non-emergency number from its official website, or call the clerk of the court named in the call. Many counties also let you search court records online. Never use a number or link the caller gave you.
What happens if I already paid at a bitcoin ATM?
Call the kiosk operator using the number on the machine or receipt, then get a police report number and file at ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Fast reports give the best chance of a hold or a refund, and some states now require refunds in certain cases. Don't pay anyone who offers to recover it for a fee.
Why do scammers tell you to stay on the phone?
So you can't check their story or talk to anyone who would stop you. Staying on the line keeps you from calling the real police and keeps bank tellers and family out of it. If a caller won't let you hang up, it's a scam.