Scam alert in Bay County

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Bay County Sheriff’s Office issued an alert on Tuesday regarding a phone scam in the area.

According to deputies, this scam revolves around a caller claiming to be from the US Marshal’s Service.

The caller allegedly will tell the victim there is a warrant out for their arrest, and in order to avoid the embarrassment of being arrested, they can pay.

Instead of the usual request of gift cards, officials say the victim is asked to put money into a Bitcoin ATM and send to the scammer.

The scammer will also reportedly keep the scammer on the phone for as long as possible, saying there are additional warrants or fees associated with avoiding arrest.

BCSO says in one case, a victim stayed on the phone for 26 hours.

Authorities stress that law enforcement will never make calls to anyone to advise them of a warrant, nor will they request payment by gift card or bitcoin so they can avoid arrest. Officials say to simply hang up when receiving any type of this call.

If you believe you’ve been a victim of this scam, please contact law enforcement to file a report.

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