A woman in Forsyth County, Georgia, lost $4,900 after a caller falsely claimed she had missed jury duty and threatened her with arrest unless she paid. According to local reporting published September 16, the woman sent the money through a Bitcoin ATM, with authorities identifying the arrest threat as part of the scam.
The scheme combines impersonation with urgency. By presenting the alleged missed jury duty as a legal violation and threatening arrest, the caller pressured the victim into making a payment before verifying the claim. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned in June that scammers use similar tactics, claiming that people have missed jury duty and demanding cryptocurrency to avoid arrest. Courts do not require people to settle such claims through phone payments.
Bitcoin ATMs, also known as cryptocurrency kiosks, allow users to deposit cash and convert it into cryptocurrency sent to a digital wallet. In these cases, scammers instruct victims to use the machines and transfer funds to wallets controlled by the perpetrators. Once the cryptocurrency is sent, recovering the funds can be difficult.
The tactic relies on making a fraudulent demand appear legitimate. Scammers may impersonate law enforcement or other trusted institutions, while caller ID can be manipulated to display what appears to be an official number. The FTC warns that a displayed police number does not prove a call is genuine. Threats of arrest for ending a call and demands for payment through a cryptocurrency kiosk are significant warning signs.
The Georgia case comes amid broader concerns over cryptocurrency kiosk fraud. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 13,400 complaints involving cryptocurrency kiosks in 2025, with reported losses exceeding $388 million, according to data released on May 15. The FBI cautioned that some complaints also involved other types of transactions, meaning the entire reported loss total cannot be attributed exclusively to kiosk scams.
Some jurisdictions have introduced measures to help victims recover losses. In Arizona, 35 victims of cryptocurrency ATM fraud received $171,332 in refunds under a state law with specific eligibility and reporting requirements. That outcome does not establish whether the Georgia victim will recover her money.
For people targeted by similar schemes, the key precaution is to verify legal claims independently before sending money. Anyone who has already transferred funds should retain receipts and transaction records, including the kiosk location and destination wallet address if available, and report the incident to local police and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
