Date: May 22, 2026

Case #s: 2026-00026865 
2026-00026842 
2026-00025741

Incident: Recent scams target locals with threats of arrest, legal trouble

Over the past several weeks, Bend Police have seen a significant uptick in scammers posing as members of law enforcement and demanding money to pay for warrants.

Officers took a case on May 15 of a Bend woman who received a call from a number identified as the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. The caller alleged the victim missed federal jury duty and had a warrant for her arrest. At the caller’s direction, the victim deposited approximately $7,000 into a Bitcoin ATM in Bend. 

In one instance reported to Bend Police on May 21, a Bend woman received a phone call and text message with a court document claiming she owed $4,500 for failing to show up for jury duty in Deschutes County. She sent the funds directly to the caller through a banking app. 

In another case reported on the same day, a Bend man reported he received a call that he had a warrant for failing to appear at a trial. The caller directed the victim to deposit $10,000 in a Bitcoin ATM. The victim deposited $2,900 before the ATM stopped working.

These are just a few of the recent scams our officers have seen, and they have a few things in common. The scammers pose as members of law enforcement, typically using VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone numbers, which transmit voice calls over the internet and cannot be traced. The numbers sometimes spoof legitimate phone numbers for law enforcement agencies. The scammers direct victims to take out cash and deposit it in a Bitcoin ATM or buy gift cards and share photos of the gift card codes with the scammers. The scammers often have a lot of personal information about the victims, which makes their scam seem more legitimate.

Money lost in these scams is almost never recovered, and in 2025 the federal government received upwards of 1 million reports of scams. 

Law enforcement will never call, text or email you demanding money. Law enforcement and federal agencies do not ask for payments through gift cards or Bitcoin. 

 
Do not transfer money into Bitcoin ATMs or online apps at the behest of any agency or business. 

Not sure if it’s a scam? Trust your gut and hang up. Call the law enforcement agency to verify the call. Don’t trust caller ID – a scammer can fake the number they’re calling from. 

Have you been the victim of a scam? Call nonemergency dispatch at 541-693-6911 to report it and file a complaint with the FBI at www.IC3.gov.