The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public about fraudulent calls and text messages called “self-custody bail bonds.”

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office is warning people about a scam targeting defendants in the Pittsburgh area.

According to the sheriff’s office, a man showed up at their office Monday to virtually turn himself in. He told officers that he had a long conversation with a person who identified himself as “Deputy Washington” and said he should turn himself in to officers for violating Megan’s Law reporting requirements.

After the man reported this to the representatives, they informed him that there was no Representative Washington in their office. He then told deputies that in addition to the lengthy phone call, he was also sent two documents via text message from the person who introduced himself as a deputy.

The first was a bogus court order stating that the man should be arrested for civil contempt for failing to appear in court. The second was a forged document informing the man that he had to pay bail. The document contained a QR code and included the address of a Bitcoin kiosk.

The man was told he could avoid arrest by depositing money into the Bitcoin kiosk and he did so in the amount of $1,100.

He gave officers the phone number he spoke to, but so far they have been unable to get any information about the scammers.

They remind people and defendants that they will never attempt to collect funds via telephone or electronic money transfer, nor will they send official documents via SMS.