A Houston woman recently lost thousands of dollars after falling victim to a new, sophisticated jury duty scam that used cryptocurrency payments as part of the fraud. The scam began with a phone call from someone posing as a law enforcement officer, claiming there were warrants for her arrest because she failed to show up for federal jury duty. The caller knew her full name and additional personal information, making the threat seem legitimate and alarming.

To further the deception, the scammers emailed her fake arrest warrants that looked official and even included her parents’ address and what appeared to be authentic government signatures. Trusting the documents, she followed instructions from the scammers, who directed her to a location in downtown Houston they said was a federal bonds office. In reality, this storefront contained cryptocurrency ATMs. She was told to make payments with crypto, and only later realized the red flags—such as unrelated advertisements in the shop window.

Unlike older scams that demanded gift cards or wire transfers, this fraud used cryptocurrency payments for extra secrecy and speed. This made the money virtually impossible to trace or recover once sent.

Local officials and the Harris County District Clerk stress that no legitimate court or law enforcement agency will ever call citizens to demand payment, threaten arrest over the phone, or request cryptocurrency transactions. Any such call is a scam, regardless of how much personal information the caller knows or how official their emails and documents may appear.

If you receive a call regarding missed jury duty and are threatened with arrest or instructed to pay any penalty, hang up immediately. Contact law enforcement to report the incident, and always verify court communications directly with official sources, never through information provided by unsolicited callers. Protect yourself and your personal information—don’t trust anyone demanding payment through crypto or other untraceable methods.