75 year old Joyce Gamble lives in Omaha Nebraska with her husband Jim. The couple was at a convenience store when Joyce's phone rang. The voice on the other end announced; “This is Marshal Lee and it’s urgent that you pay this outstanding fine on behalf of Jim Gamble. He failed to appear for his court appearance and now owes $9000 or he'll be arrested very shortly. Don't attempt to bring the money to our station. Officers are already on the lookout for your husband and if they see him they will arrest him regardless of the money".
She was frantic and almost in tears. "How do I know you are who you say you are"?
Marshal Lee responded "I will text you a copy of Jim's warrant for arrest".
A moment later she saw the text with the warrant for Jim's arrest."What am I supposed to do then"?
"There's a bitcoin kiosk at 7166 N 30th. Get $9000 and bring it to that machine. Call this number when you arrive and I'll instruct you how to proceed".
Thankfully Joyce is hard of hearing so her phone is cranked up. An anonymous good Samaritan could hear what the guy was saying.
He said “That’s a scam. A thousand percent a scam. They’re not the cops.”
Joyce said "but what about this warrant" and showed it to him. “That is not a real warrant. They don’t send warrants by phone. This is absolutely not legit, guys. None of this looks legit.”
A confused Joyce then went to speak with the store owner. The good Samaritan left but you can see him on the security footage from the store.
Omaha City Council, on the advice of Sheriff Aaron Hanson, has passed an ordinance requiring scam warning stickers on all crypto ATMs. The stickers will be distributed to stores in the coming weeks to help prevent similar scams. Joyce says she’s deeply thankful for the good Samaritan and hopes to meet him someday to thank him personally for saving their life savings.