A ‘sheriff’s office’ phone scam sweeping Florida almost cost this woman $10K. How she figured out it was a scheme just in the nick of time

Her ordeal is a near-perfect example of a growing problem: impersonation scams.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), criminals posing as trusted businesses or government officials, such as police, sheriffs, IRS agents or court officers, stole more than $445 million in 2024 (2).

A voicemail and a fake warrant trigger panic

Amarillas told Tampa Bay 28 that she received a voicemail from a man identifying himself as a captain with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

When she returned the call, she heard what she said sounded like police scanners and the noise of a busy law enforcement office. She was transferred to a man who claimed Amarillas had two warrants out for her arrest because she failed to appear before a federal grand jury.

The scammer insisted she had been served with a certified letter ordering her to appear in court. Failure to do so would be a “federal crime,” he told Amarillas. She said he then texted her an official-looking document titled “Warrant for the Arrest of a Witness or a Disqualified Juror in a Pending Criminal Case,” complete with seals, signatures and a breakdown of penalties totaling roughly $10,000.

Only one tiny detail at the bottom hinted at the ruse. It read:

“Did you know? As of January 3, 2025, you will now pay federal citation fines using Bitcoin!” Amarillas said she didn’t notice it at first. The pressure was too intense.

The scammer claimed she was under a “federal gag order” and was not allowed to tell anyone what was happening. When she told him she didn’t have $10,000 available, he told her to get a cash advance on a credit card.

The payment method was the giveaway

After securing the cash, the scammer, who had stayed on the line, instructed Amarillas to drive to a location with an “automated bonds teller” to deposit the funds.

At one location, a 7-Eleven, the machine wasn’t available. At another convenience store, she found a Bitcoin kiosk and received a QR code from the scammer, which he said was a link to the payment portal. But, that’s when Amarillas said she noticed a literal warning sign.

"I saw a banner at the bottom that said, if someone has sent you a QR code to scan at this machine, it's most likely a scam," she told Tampa Bay 28.

That red flag saved her $10,000.

Amarillas said she then put the caller on hold and contacted the real Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy confirmed the entire scenario was a scam — and that the agency would never call to warn of a warrant, demand payment or direct someone to purchase cryptocurrency.

Two days later, the sheriff’s office issued a public warning via Facebook (3), noting it had seen more than $1 million stolen through impersonation scams in just the first three months of 2025.

How to avoid a law enforcement impersonation scam

The tactics used on Amarillas align with national trends tracked by the FTC (4), AARP (5) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (6).