Crestview woman reportedly nearly loses $25K in jury duty AI voice scam
A Crestview woman reportedly nearly fell victim to an AI-driven jury duty scam where callers impersonated Okaloosa sheriff's deputies using AI voice technology and spoofed phone numbers. The scammers demanded $25,000 via a Bitcoin ATM, but the woman avoided the loss after verifying with the sheriff's office.
According to reports, a Crestview woman nearly lost $25,000 in a sophisticated AI-driven scheme in Okaloosa County, Florida. Callers, posing as sheriff's deputies, claimed the woman had missed federal jury duty and demanded payment to avoid arrest. The victim, Narissa Jenkins, stated the caller sounded legitimate, had no foreign accent, and even appeared to call from the sheriff's main line due to phone number spoofing. The scammer also used the name of a real officer. Jenkins was instructed to deposit $25,000 into a Bitcoin ATM at a Shell gas station, described as a 'federally approved depository.' She became suspicious when the Bitcoin ATM displayed a disclaimer about jury duty scams and the caller urged her to bypass it. Jenkins then drove to the sheriff's office, where she was informed it was a scam. Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden confirmed that scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence for voice overrides and spoofed numbers to make their calls seem real, warning the public that law enforcement does not demand money over the phone for missed jury duty.