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US Marshals Service warns of spoofing scam involving bitcoin ATMs

Photo: iStock

December 9, 2019

The U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI are once again warning the public of an impostor phone scam involving bitcoin ATMs. 

Spoofers are impersonating government employees and demanding payment via bitcoin ATMs, according an updated fraud advisory on Friday.

During the calls, scammers attempt to collect a fine in lieu of arrest for failing to report for jury duty or other offense. They then tell victims they can avoid arrest by purchasing a prepaid debit card or gift card and reading the card numbers over the phone — or by depositing cash into a bitcoin ATM.

"Scammers use many tactics to sound and appear credible," the U.S. Marshals said in the advisory. "They sometimes provide information like badge numbers, names of actual law enforcement officials and federal judges, and courthouse addresses. They may also spoof their phone numbers to appear on caller IDs as if they are calling from a government agency or the court."

U.S. Marshals is urging people to report the calls to their local FBI office and file a consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which has the ability to detect patterns of fraud from the information collected and share that data with law enforcement.  

UPDATED FRAUD ADVISORY - Spoofers using government phone numbers, government employees’ names,
demanding payment via bitcoin ATMs: https://t.co/ZMBG3hNJmj

— U.S. Marshals (@USMarshalsHQ) December 6, 2019