Allegheny County Sheriff's Office warning public of "self remand bond" scam calls and texts
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office is warning people of a scam that is targeting criminal defendants in the Pittsburgh area.
According to the sheriff's office, a man appeared at their office on Monday to essentially turn himself in. He told deputies that he had a long conversation with a person who identified himself as "Deputy Washington" who said he was to surrender to deputies for being out of compliance with Megan's Law reporting requirements.
After the man told deputies this, they informed him that there was no Deputy Washington in their office. He then told deputies that along with the lengthy phone call, he was also texted two documents from the person presenting themself as a deputy.
The first was a forged court order that said the man was to be arrested for civil contempt for failure to appear in court. The second was a forged document telling the man he had to pay bond money. The document had a QR code and provided the address of a Bitcoin kiosk.
The man was told he could avoid arrest by depositing money into the Bitcoin kiosk and he did so for the amount of $1,100.
He provided deputies with the phone number he spoke with but so far they have not been able to obtain any information regarding the scammers.
They are reminding people, as well as criminal defendants, that they will never seek to collect funds over the phone or through electronic funds transfers nor will they send official documents via text message.