Scammers recycling the old "you-have-a-warrant" phone con are back in Winter Haven, and this time they are aiming straight at worried families.
The Winter Haven Public Safety Department said in a Wednesday alert that the long-running warrant scam has resurfaced locally with a more manipulative approach. Callers are posing as law enforcement or court officials, demanding hundreds of dollars in hard-to-trace payments and, in a particularly disturbing twist, telling families that a jailed relative can be moved to a mental-health facility if they pay up front. Several victims have already lost money while their loved ones stayed right where they were in custody, according to the department, which is urging anyone targeted to report it immediately.
In its latest post, the Winter Haven Public Safety Department said the callers typically insist on payment through Bitcoin, Cash App or similar money-transfer options. They may also spoof phone numbers or toss out fake badge numbers to sound convincing. The department reminded residents that legitimate officers do not call people to demand money, and that law enforcement handles service in person rather than phoning ahead with threats.
How the scam works
Typically, the script starts with a call or text claiming you skipped jury duty or have an active warrant, followed by escalating threats of arrest unless you pay right away. Scammers then push victims to use cryptocurrency, prepaid gift cards or mobile payment apps because those transactions are hard to reverse and tougher for investigators to trace, according to the FTC. Federal agencies advise never sending money to anyone who calls out of the blue and demands immediate payment.
Florida agencies sounding the alarm
Law enforcement across Florida is seeing the same playbook, including callers steering people to Bitcoin kiosks or QR codes to "settle" their supposed cases. Local coverage of an Okeechobee County Sheriff's advisory reported that deputies there will not call residents to accept cryptocurrency or any other payment to clear a warrant, according to WPBF.
Federal courts have issued similar warnings, with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida reminding the public that court staff will not call and threaten arrest or demand payment by phone.
New twist targets families
The Winter Haven alert also highlighted a particularly cruel variation that zeroes in on relatives of people behind bars. In this version, callers claim a detained loved one qualifies to be transferred to a mental-health facility to "complete their sentence" and say the transfer can be arranged for a fee, according to the Winter Haven Public Safety Department. Officials say that pitch appears crafted to crank up the urgency and prey on families already anxious about someone in custody.
What to do if you are called
If you get a suspicious call like this, hang up. Then, independently look up and call your local police agency or the court clerk using phone numbers from official government websites, not any number the caller gives you, to verify whether there is a real issue. Do not send money or share personal or financial information, especially through cryptocurrency, QR codes, gift cards or payment apps. Federal authorities encourage people to report these scams, and the FTC and the FBI’s IC3 provide online tools and guidance for filing complaints.
Legal consequences and reporting
Under federal law, schemes that use interstate phone lines or electronic communications to steal money can be prosecuted as crimes, including charges such as wire fraud and false impersonation of an officer. Once money is pushed into cryptocurrency wallets or loaded onto prepaid products, investigators say it often becomes far more difficult to get back. The U.S. Department of Justice criminal manual outlines how wire-fraud prosecutions work and why reporting suspected scams early can help agents build stronger cases.
