The 6 scams hitting our neighbors right now

1 · The cloned-voice family emergency

What it looks like: A call from your child or grandchild — their exact voice — crying, arrested, in an accident, needing bail or hospital money right now. AI can clone a voice from seconds of online video. The FBI has warned about this exact scheme.

What to do: Hang up and call your family member back at their number. Better: set a family code word this week — a question only they can answer. No code word, no money. It turns the scammers’ best weapon into a two-second test.

2 · The Bitcoin ATM “payment”

What it looks like: A caller claiming to be your bank, the government, or “support” directs you to withdraw cash and deposit it at a crypto kiosk at a gas station or convenience store to “protect” or “recover” your money. These scams took $389 million in 2025 — and people over 60 lost $257 million of it, more than any other age group (FBI IC3).

What to do: No bank, agency, or company will ever send you to a Bitcoin machine. The sentence “deposit it at a crypto kiosk” ends the conversation — hang up. Once cash enters that machine, it is gone.

3 · The gold bar / cash courier

What it looks like: A caller — sometimes posing as the FTC, your bank’s “fraud department,” or federal agents — says your accounts are compromised and you must convert savings to gold bars or cash, which a “courier” collects at your door for “safekeeping.” The FBI issued a formal warning in late 2025, and the FTC found gold mentioned in about 1 in 5 impersonation-scam reports with losses over $100K.

What to do: No legitimate organization sends a courier for your valuables — ever. If someone is coming to your door for money or gold, call 911, then call me.

4 · The toll & SunPass text

What it looks like: A text says you owe a small unpaid toll — $6.99, $12.50 — with a link. The small amount is bait; the link harvests your card number and personal details. These texts flooded Florida and the FBI logged thousands of complaints.

What to do: Don’t tap the link. SunPass and toll agencies don’t collect by text. Check only at the official SunPass site or app, typed in yourself. Delete the text.

5 · The Sheriff / jury-duty impostor

What it looks like: A caller using a real deputy’s name says you missed jury duty or there’s a warrant — pay a fine now by gift card, crypto, or wire, or be arrested. Marion County has seen repeated waves of this one.

What to do: The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is blunt about it: deputies will never call to demand money, and jury notices come by mail. Hang up and call the Sheriff’s Office directly at (352) 732-9111 if you want confirmation.

6 · The pop-up “virus” warning

What it looks like: Your screen freezes with sirens and a “Microsoft/Apple Support” warning to call a number immediately. It is the most-reported scam by Americans over 60 — $1 billion last year — and it exists to get you to install remote-access software and hand over your banking.

What to do: Microsoft and Apple never put phone numbers in virus warnings. Hold the power button, restart, and the “virus” is gone. If you called the number or let anyone in, that’s fixable — call me and we’ll clean it properly.