Man scammed with fake arrest warrant

A Birmingham man was scammed out of nearly $4,000 after falling victim to a phone scammer claiming he had an outstanding arrest warrant. 

The man told Birmingham police that he got a call from an unknown number telling him about the outstanding warrant and that he needed to send $10,000 in Bitcoin to resolve the issue. He reportedly told the scammer that he only had $2,900 available, which he sent, and was then told to withdraw $1,000 from an ATM. 

He followed the scammer’s instructions and sent the money before the call was disconnected, eventually reporting the situation early the next morning. Birmingham police say an investigation is ongoing.