Overview
The State of Washington Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Consumer Services Division has become aware of an apparent scam involving scammers posing as bail bond providers and telling families they can keep their relatives from being arrested by paying bail in cryptocurrency.
How the Scam Works
- Scammers use publicly available websites to identify individuals who have been recently arrested.
- Scammers will locate and contact the family members of the recently arrested individual and say they can pay bail to prevent their family member from going to jail by using one of the following payment methods:
- Cryptocurrency
- Gift cards
- Payment through other money transmitter companies.
- It has been reported that these scammers include, but are not limited to, incarcerated individuals contacting family members demanding payment via phone call which appear to come from a prison.
Consumers should be aware that once a cryptocurrency transaction is completed, these transactions are irreversible.
How to Protect Yourself
- No licensed bail bond providers, courts, or government agencies will ever ask for payment in cryptocurrency, gift cards, or through money transmitter companies.
- You can verify that you are working with a licensed bail bond provider by using the Department of Licensing’s License Lookup tool at https://professions.dol.wa.gov/s/license-lookup
- If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to work for a licensed bail bond provider, a court, or a government agency, you can hang up and call back using a verified telephone number that can be found on the company’s, agency’s, or court’s website.
Report Fraud
If you feel you have been the victim of a scam you can contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357 or online at www.ftc.gov, contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at 855-411-2372 or online at www.consumerfinance.gov, or file a report with your local police.
If the scammers already have your bank account information, social security number, or other nonpublic information, you may be a victim of identity theft and you can take appropriate precautions. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has information for victims of identity theft available online at www.ftc.gov.
If you feel you have been the victim of a scam involving the internet you can also contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center online at www.ic3.gov.
If you feel you have been the victim of a financial scam and are concerned about your personal financial information, you can contact your banking institution and the three major credit bureaus. Procedures for contacting the credit bureaus are available on the FTC’s website at www.ftc.gov.
If you live in another state, go to this webpage to find the regulator in your home state.