Two Massachusetts women recently lost a combined $6,700 to a “missed jury duty” phone scam that utilized Bitcoin ATMs, Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott said.

According to the sheriff, there’s been an increase in calls from scammers who claim to work for local law enforcement and demand money from residents who have supposedly missed jury duty. They threaten to arrest those who don’t agree to pay.

“The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office never makes calls like this, and neither do local police departments,” McDermott said in a statement Wednesday. “Just hang up on anyone who is demanding money and acting like they are from our office, or another law enforcement agency, threatening you with arrest or detainment for things like ‘missed jury duty’ or an ‘outstanding warrant.’”

Scammers used Bitcoin ATMs

Both of the victims came to the sheriff’s office after sending money to the scammers. One was a woman from Sharon who paid $5,250 via a Bitcoin kiosk.

“She told our officer she was there to clear up an issue about missing jury duty after transferring the money as demanded,” the sheriff said. 

The woman said she saw a sign on the Bitcoin machine warning about scams, but the person on the phone told her should would be detained for 10-12 days if she didn’t pay.

Just 90 minutes later, the sheriff said a woman from Dedham came into the office to report that she paid a $1,450 “bond” through a Roslindale Bitcoin kiosk. The scammer reportedly sent her a “fraudulent court document to back up his claims,” the sheriff said, and threatened that she’d be arrested and detained for 72 hours unless she paid immediately.  

Scam warnings

The city of Gloucester recently banned Bitcoin ATMs, saying they’re concerned the machines could be used by scammers to prey on elderly victims. And in Waltham this summer, a police officer stopped an elderly man from sending $12,000 to scammers via a Bitcoin machine. 

In August, the Federal Trade Commission warned that scammers pretending to be police are calling up Americans and directing them to fake websites to pay a fine for missing jury duty. 

“It might ask you to pay up to $10,000 in fines on the site, or send you to a “government kiosk” (no such thing) to pay by cryptocurrency,” the FTC said. “But every bit of this is a scam.”