New Lenox man loses $15,140 in jury duty bitcoin scam

A scammer persuaded a New Lenox man to deposit $15,140 into a bitcoin machine by claiming he had been issued a warrant for missing jury duty.

At 11:40 a.m. on Dec. 5, an officer responded to the New Lenox Police Department regarding a deceptive practices complaint.

A man had said he was contacted by someone “purporting themselves to be from the Will County Sheriff’s Office,” according to a statement from the police department.

The person had told the man “there was a warrant issued for them for missing jury duty” and requested he make a $15,140 payment to a bitcoin ATM, police said.

The man “provided the cash” through the bitcoin ATM but discovered he was scammed when he was asked for more money, police said.

Police have no information about the scammer.

New Lenox has at least three bitcoin ATMs called RocktItCoin at Gas N Wash, 700 E. Lincoln Hwy., Food N Fuel, 2560 N. Cedar Road, and Gas N Wash, 1930 Airway Court, according to RocktItCoin’s website.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency or digital money that is designed to work through an online network without being backed by any government or banking institution, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Transactions are recorded with technology called a blockchain.

The Federal Trade Commission reported that fraud losses to bitcoin ATMs “have topped $65 million” in the first half of this year.

The majority of the scams involved “government impersonation, business impersonation, and tech support scams,” according to the FTC.

“The lies told by scammers vary, but they all create some urgent justification for consumers to take cash out of their bank accounts and put it into a bitcoin ATM. As soon as consumers scan a QR code provided by scammers at the machine, their cash is deposited straight into the scammers’ crypto account,” FTC officials said.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office has warned the public about scammers calling people and claiming they missed jury duty or a court date and will face jail time unless they pay a fine.

Law enforcement, jury duty staff, judges and courthouse employees will “never call you and pressure you to pay a fine,” according to the sheriff’s office.

“These scammers are fast talkers and will encourage you to act swiftly sending them money. This is a scam! Hang up the phone,” sheriff’s officials said.