A Marana woman had $7,000 in cash and was standing at a grocery-store kiosk when one warning message stopped a fake sheriff’s department call from becoming a real loss.
Rachel Mullis told KOLD that her phone showed a call from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. She answered because the number looked real.
The caller claimed to be a deputy and said she had missed jury duty. Over the next three hours, Mullis said, the fake deputy threatened her with jail and told her she had to pay immediately.
Mullis withdrew $7,000 from her bank and went to a grocery-store kiosk, where the caller described the machine as a “bail deposit office.”
The Caller ID Looked Like The Sheriff’s Department
Mullis said the call appeared to come from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, according to KOLD. That detail made the story sound official before the caller ever started talking.
The fake deputy told her she had missed jury duty and claimed the judge assigned to the trial was strict about missed service. Mullis said the caller told her the judge had pressed charges against her.
She was then given a choice: pay or go to jail. The caller allegedly kept her on the phone and warned that if she told anyone, her husband and children could also be affected.
“I never thought I’d be scammed,” Mullis told KOLD. “I thought that only happened to older people.”
The Threats Lasted Three Hours
The caller allegedly told Mullis there were warrants out for her arrest and that she owed money immediately.
KOLD reported that the fake deputy kept her on the phone for about three hours. Mullis said he sounded reassuring while pushing her toward the payment.
She withdrew cash from her bank and went to a grocery-store kiosk with $7,000. The caller framed the kiosk as a place where she could make a bail deposit.
Judge Danelle Liwski, presiding judge of Pima County Superior Court, told KOLD that judges can require a person to appear after a missed jury summons, but a judge would never request a law enforcement officer to call someone for money.
The Kiosk Warning Stopped The Deposit
As Mullis entered the account number the caller had provided, the kiosk displayed a warning.
The message said law enforcement would never ask someone to deposit money into a Coinstar machine, Mullis told KOLD. She said the warning became the final sign that something was wrong.
She hung up, drove home, and reported what happened.
The warning is tied to Arizona’s cryptocurrency kiosk fraud-prevention law. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office says the law requires cryptocurrency ATM screens to display warning signs and requires customers to acknowledge the warnings before proceeding.
Pima County Court Had Already Warned About This Scam
The Pima County Superior Court warned earlier this year that scammers may pose as court employees or law enforcement officers and threaten arrest or prosecution over a fake missed court order or jury summons.
The court said it does not demand money over the phone, request gift cards or electronic payments through services such as Zelle or Venmo, or ask for personal or financial information through unsolicited communications.
The court also said judges do not have law enforcement officers collect money over the phone on the court’s behalf.
If someone claims to be a court official or law enforcement officer and demands money to avoid arrest, the court’s warning is direct: it is a scam. Pima County residents who lost money can file a fraud report with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.
The Red Flag Was The Demand For Money
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department tells fraud victims to gather evidence, contact local law enforcement, contact their financial institution, and stop communicating with the scammer.
That advice matches the detail that saved Mullis. The caller wanted speed, isolation, and cash. The kiosk warning forced a pause before the money went into the machine.
KOLD reported that anyone with jury-duty questions can call the Pima County Jury Office at 520-724-4222.
Mullis did not lose the $7,000. The scam stopped because she trusted the warning on the screen before the cash went into the machine.