U.S. Marshals Service Warns of Imposter Scams Targeting Individuals with Bitcoin ATM Deposit Claims

The U.S. Marshals Service issued a warning Tuesday about imposter scams targeting individuals with claims that those targeted are subject to arrest if they don't pay a fine by withdrawing cash from their personal bank accounts and depositing the cash into bitcoin ATMs.

A warning was issued Tuesday by the U.S. Marshals Service about imposter scams targeting individuals with claims that those targeted are subject to arrest if they don't pay a fine by withdrawing cash from their personal bank accounts and depositing the cash into bitcoin ATMs.

Bitcoin ATMs are automatic teller machines that allow the purchase of cryptocurrencies by using cash or debit card. According to the online resource Coin ATM Radar, there are more than 30,000 bitcoin ATMs in the U.S., 240 of which it says are in Arkansas.

According to the advisory, scammers spoof actual government agency telephone numbers and impersonate government officials in an effort to persuade people that they must pay a fine or risk arrest due to identity theft, failure to report for jury duty or other civil process issues. During these calls, the release said, scammers attempt to collect a fine in lieu of arrest, telling the targets that they must withdraw cash from their bank accounts and transfer the money to the government by depositing cash into bitcoin ATMs.

The release said scammers use a variety of tactics to sound and appear credible, such as providing badge numbers, the names of actual law enforcement officials and federal judges, courthouse addresses and spoofed government telephone numbers that appear on caller ID displays as the U.S. Marshals Service or other government offices. Scammers often mine public information sites to obtain old residential addresses, phone numbers and other personally identifying information in an attempt to add an air of legitimacy to their claims, the release said, and end the call by advising the victim that they will be contacted by an investigator.

A short time later, the release said, the victim is contacted by another individual claiming to be a U.S. marshal who is looking into the case. That person will then review the previous conversation and tell the victim the issue can be resolved by either hiring a lawyer or withdrawing "80% of their physical assets" for deposit into a digital wallet (bitcoin) while saving the withdrawal and deposit receipts for review by investigators once a meeting can be established. The victim is then told their money will be transferred back to them once the process is completed and the victim will be cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

The release said as a final step, the victim is told to send a photo of their driver's license and of the QR code scanned at the deposit kiosk to a phone number provided by the scammer.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Jeremy Hammons, public information officer for the U.S. Marshals Service's Eastern District of Arkansas office, said people should be aware that no legitimate law enforcement agency, including the U.S. Marshals Service, would ever contact the subject of an arrest warrant and demand payment of a fine to avoid arrest.

"That's not how we operate," Hammons said. "If anyone does get such a call, they can contact our district office or the federal court clerk and ask if there's a subpoena they missed or something like that but we never make a phone call to tell someone they have a warrant out and give them the option to pay a fine. Never."

Asked if someone were to come to the U.S. Marshals Service to pay a fine if bitcoin would be a suitable currency, Hammons laughed.

"We don't even accept fines in the U.S. Marshals Service office, period," he said. "The only one who can accept payment of a fine is the federal clerk and I doubt they take bitcoin."

Federal Clerk Tammy Downs confirmed that her office does not take bitcoin or any other type of cryptocurrency in payment for fines, fees or assessments of any kind.

"We do not," Downs said Tuesday.

Hammons said anyone who gets such a call should not engage with the caller beyond getting a name and phone number to contact in order to report the incident.

"These guys are pretty well versed," he said. "They'll have answers that will probably align with factual information. The best thing to do is to get their name, tell them now isn't a good time to talk and get off the phone. It's important to get a name and document the phone number so we can see if the information aligns with other complaints."

Hammons said similar scams in the past have often targeted well-educated professionals, such as doctors or other professionals who tend to have busy schedules and could plausibly have overlooked a jury summons or other legal contact.

"They call up a doctor and say, 'Hey, you missed a jury trial,' and the first thing they may think is they don't want their name ruined," he said. "So they go out and follow these directions and end up being out a lot of money."

People who do lose money to such scams, Hammons said, are sometimes reluctant to report it out of embarrassment for having fallen for the ruse, but he said reporting any such incidents is key to putting a stop to them. The same, he said, goes for people who recognize