A Forsyth County, Georgia woman lost $4,900 after receiving a call claiming she had missed jury duty and needed to pay immediately to avoid arrest. She deposited the money into a Bitcoin ATM following the caller's instructions, according to local reporting on the case published September 16.
The scam combined two common fraud tactics: an arrest threat and pressure to send money quickly. The Federal Trade Commission warned in June that callers claiming someone missed jury duty may threaten arrest unless the person pays in cryptocurrency. Courts do not demand payment by phone, and law enforcement will not call to threaten arrest for hanging up.
How the Scheme Works
Bitcoin ATMs, also called cryptocurrency kiosks, allow users to deposit cash and send cryptocurrency to a digital wallet address. In these scams, the person making the deposit follows the caller's instructions while the destination wallet belongs to the scammer.
Fraudsters impersonate law enforcement or court officials to make unfamiliar payment requests sound official. The supposed legal deadline creates urgency, while the cryptocurrency kiosk converts deposited cash into a digital payment that cannot be easily reversed.
The FBI has warned that fake law enforcement threats involving crypto ATMs pressure people into making payments before they verify claims. Caller ID displaying a police number cannot establish that a call is genuine.
Scope of Crypto ATM Fraud
The Forsyth County loss is part of a broader pattern of reported cryptocurrency kiosk scams. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 13,400 complaints involving kiosks in 2025, with reported losses exceeding $388 million. The bureau notes that some complaints involved other types of transactions, so not all losses can be assigned solely to kiosk fraud.
Some states have begun implementing consumer protection measures. In Arizona, 35 crypto ATM fraud victims received $171,332 in refunds under a state law with specific eligibility and reporting requirements.
Protecting Yourself
The FTC advises that requests to settle a warrant at a cryptocurrency kiosk are signs of fraud, regardless of how official the caller sounds. If you have sent funds through a crypto kiosk in a suspected scam, the FBI recommends retaining receipts and transaction details. Report suspected fraud to local police and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, including the kiosk location, destination wallet address if available, and information about the caller.
