The Arrest Warrant Scam

Flggd Scam School · Government & Law Enforcement Scams · Lesson 5 of 14

A voice says there's a warrant for your arrest, and officers are on their way unless you act now. If you just got a call saying there's a warrant for your arrest, here's what's actually happening.

The message looks like this

Why this is a scam

Real warrants are not phone calls, and they cannot be paused with a payment. Police do not warn you they're coming, and no court accepts gift cards, wire transfers, or crypto to "hold" anything.

The script is built to keep you scared and on the phone. The "officer" will stay with you while you drive to a store or your bank, coaching you on what to say. That coaching is the scam working in real time.

If any of it were real, you'd receive court papers with a case number you could verify yourself.

Red flags checklist

• An arrest threat delivered by phone or voicemail.

• A payment can supposedly stop the warrant.

• Payment by gift card, wire transfer, or crypto.

• You're told to stay on the line and tell no one.

• "Officers dispatched" but you can somehow fix it with a call.

• A callback number that doesn't match any real court or department.

The manipulation tactic

Pure fear plus authority. Panic narrows your thinking to one exit, and the caller is holding it open for you.

What to do, and what not to do

• Hang up. That is safe, no matter how real it sounded.

• If you're worried, look up your local court or police non-emergency number yourself and ask.

• Never pay anyone who threatens arrest by phone; police don't take payments.

• Don't stay on the line, and do tell someone you trust what happened.

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