Florida woman loses $34K in bogus law enforcement phone scam, officials say

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. - Law enforcement agencies in Florida are warning people about a resurfaced phone scam, where people are pretending to be police officers or sheriff's office deputies and then demanding payments related to arrest warrants, jury duty, or court-related issues.

A woman in Osceola County was recently scammed out of $34,000, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office said.

Scam alert: Here’s how it works

Big picture view:

Both the Osceola County Sheriff's Office and Sumter County Sheriff's Office posted warnings of the scam resurgence on their social media accounts.

According to the sheriff's office:

• The scammer calls from a "spoofed" number that may show the sheriff's office on the caller ID.
• The person then claims to be a deputy or to work for the sheriff's office, police department, or court.
• That person then typically claims someone has an active warrant for their arrest, missed jury duty, or a missed court date and will then demand to be paid over the phone under threat of being arrested.
• Payment typically includes gift cards or cryptocurrency, officials said.

The Sumter County Sheriff's Office said these scam calls typically come from several different numbers, usually internet-based numbers, though the caller ID may list the sheriff's office name or appear to come from a legitimate law enforcement agency. 

Law enforcement: We will never call you to demand payment over the phone

Both the Osceola County and Sumter County Sheriff's Office said law enforcement will not call you to discuss an arrest warrant, threaten arrest, or demand any payment over the phone. Those are tell-tale signs of a scam.

Here's what to do:

• Do not send anyone money over the phone, purchase gift cards, or share personal information with them over the phone.
• Hang up the phone immediately.
• If you’re unsure whether the call is real, call the agency directly via their non-emergency number.

Florida woman scammed out of $34,000

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office said a woman in her 50s recently picked up the phone and fell for the scam. She was convinced to purchase several Bitcoin transactions totaling $34,000, OCSO said.