Local leaders target jury duty scam tied to Bitcoin ATMs, special session planned
SAN ANTONIO - City and county leaders are working together to protect you from getting scammed.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar is teaming up with city council to stop a scam that's tricking people out of thousands.
"We've been seeing incidences of what we call a jury duty scam," said Sheriff Salazar. "People are calling claiming to be with the Bexar County Sheriff's office then keeping the victims on the phone for several hour, having them go to bitcoin machines at several retail establishments and then depositing to pay their fine."
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Salazar wrote a letter to the council in February calling for the passing of a new ordinance similar to one passed in Omaha, Nebraska in 2024.
"I'm writing to enlist your help with an issue which undoubtedly affects us all, but you are more suited to help address than I am at present, through passing an ordinance," the letter read.
It would include signage to be placed directly on Bitcoin ATM's to warn users of a possible scam.
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District 9 councilwoman Misty Spears tells me she reached out to Sheriff Salazar after that letter.
She and her fellow councilmembers Teri Castillo, Marina Alderete Gavito and Marc Whyte teamed up on a four signature memo calling for a special meeting to set changes in motion.
"It's going to happen within 30 days from the February 25 date," Councilwoman Spears said. "We're just going to be hammering out what language needs to go in there to encompass all the kinds of scams that we're currently seeing, and then also anything that we're seeing in other parts of the country."
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Those scams, including jail bond scams, where scammers pose as jail staff requesting payment for an inmate's release.
According to data from the sheriff's office, victims lost over $1.7 million to these scams in 2025 alone, which is a stiff increase from a reported $24,000 in 2020.
"Our hope is that we can hopefully help these folks get their money back," Salazar said. "Our chances of identifying the scammers that are doing this are -- I'll be honest -- slim to none."
In its special session meeting, the council will discuss changing its charter to add a section specifically for jury service fraud and digital asset kiosk disclosures.
A date hasn't been set for that meeting.
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