Scammers Pose as Sheriff’s Deputies in Humboldt County Arrest Warrant Fraud Attempt

A Humboldt County resident narrowly avoided being defrauded Thursday after scammers posing as sheriff’s deputies called his workplace, presented a fake arrest warrant, and demanded thousands of dollars in cash — a scheme the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office says it is aware of and has been warning the public about.

According to a community member whose incident was shared with Redheaded Blackbelt, two men called the victim’s workplace claiming to be from the sheriff’s office, telling him he had an active arrest warrant for failure to appear for jury duty. Over the course of an hour, the callers used high-pressure tactics and legal-sounding jargon — including references to a “gag order” and suppression order — to keep the victim on the line. They provided a badge number and identified themselves using the name Kevin Wilson.

The callers used a phone number that appeared to match the sheriff’s office and texted the victim a convincing-looking fake arrest warrant on what appeared to be United States District Court letterhead, listing charges of failure to appear and contempt of court with a bond amount of $45,000. The victim was told he owed 10 percent — $4,500 — in cash immediately to avoid arrest.

The scammers also texted instructions for paying through a Bitcoin kiosk deposit system, directing the victim to obtain cash, locate a “Secure Kiosk Location,” obtain a BTC certificate using a “10-digit FBI ACCT number,” and proceed to the sheriff’s office to finalize the transaction. The materials included fake government seals including a “Federal Kiosk Network” logo and a “Digital Asset Security” emblem.

He did not send any money.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has documented this scam and warns that callers may use the names of actual HCSO employees, including Lt. Kevin Miller and Investigator Scott Hicks, to appear credible. In some versions of the scam, callers threaten to send deputies to the victim’s home and demand payment via Green Dot prepaid cards or Amazon gift cards rather than Bitcoin.

The Sheriff’s Office states law enforcement will never call to demand payment to avoid arrest, and no legitimate government agency will ask for payment via gift cards, prepaid cards, or cryptocurrency kiosks.

Anyone who receives a call like this is encouraged to hang up and report it through the HCSO online reporting portal at humboldtgov.org/1380/Online-Reporting. Additional scam prevention information is available at humboldtgov.org/2864/Scam-Information.