Whitemarsh Township residents have lost thousands of dollars to a phone scam in which callers impersonate Montgomery County sheriff's deputies, claim the resident missed jury duty and direct them to deposit cash into Bitcoin kiosks.
Nearly a dozen county residents have been victimized between May and July, with individual losses ranging from $1,380 to $23,600, according to a joint alert from District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Sheriff Sean P. Kilkenny issued July 31. Total losses exceed $60,000, KYW Newsradio reported.
Whitemarsh and East Norriton are among eight townships where victims live, Main Line Media News reported. The others include Lower Merion, Upper Moreland, Upper Providence, Springfield, Lansdale and Upper Pottsgrove.
How the scam works
The caller uses a spoofed 610 area code number and identifies himself as "Lieutenant McDonald" or another Montgomery County Sheriff's Office official. He tells the resident they owe money for missing federal jury duty, then threatens that officers will come to their home and arrest them if they don't pay immediately.
The caller appears to know personal information about the victim.
Victims are told to start driving toward the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown. Before they arrive, the scammer redirects them to a specific Bitcoin kiosk and instructs them to deposit money while staying on the phone. One resident borrowed $3,000 from friends to deposit into a kiosk, believing he was satisfying a warrant.
The money is nearly impossible to trace.
"These are folks who do not have the money to lose in these situations, and they are affected very badly by this," Steele said July 31. "This is a scam that's preying on people who don't have the money to lose."
What the county says is legitimate
Under actual court procedure, no money is involved when a failure-to-appear warrant is issued for missing jury duty. Such a warrant must be handled in a courtroom before a Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas judge, not over the phone.
Sheriff Kilkenny said his personnel will never call a resident to demand money to satisfy a warrant or demand money for any reason.
County detectives are working with businesses that house Bitcoin kiosks to place warning stickers on the machines alerting users about depositing large sums at someone else's instruction. The Montgomery County Detective Bureau is actively investigating.
How to protect yourself
Residents who receive a suspicious call should hang up immediately and call the Montgomery County Courthouse at 610-278-3000, then ask to be transferred to the Sheriff's Office. Do not call back any number the scammer provides, as scammers will answer posing as the Sheriff's Office.
Anyone who receives one of these calls should document the date, time, and phone number shown on caller ID, then call the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-278-3368.
