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Winter Haven, FL - A Winter Haven family is warning others after an 85-year-old woman was allegedly persuaded to send thousands of dollars to a scam caller who claimed to be from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
According to her daughter, Ruth Ann Dittman, the incident began when the caller ID on her mother’s phone displayed Polk County Sheriff’s Office, leading the victim to believe the call was real.
Dittman said the caller allegedly told her mother there was a warrant for her arrest because she had not returned required jury duty paperwork.
Dittman said the scammer insisted the summons had been sent to her son’s address and attempted to gain her mother’s trust by claiming to know her son personally.
The caller then allegedly told the victim she needed to pay $8,000 in bitcoin to stop the supposed arrest process and instructed her to stay on the phone throughout the entire interaction.
Following the caller’s directions, the woman drove to her bank, withdrew cash, and then went to a strip mall containing a cryptocurrency ATM.
Dittman said her mother deposited $5,000 into the machine before the scammer allegedly tried to convince her to obtain an additional $3,000 from her son.
When the victim reached out to family, they realized it was a scam and stopped the transaction from continuing.
Dittman contacted local media to raise awareness and said she hopes the case prevents others from falling victim to similar schemes.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it is investigating the incident.