Florida Government Warns of Auto Warranty Scammers Asking for Crypto Payments

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has issued a warning sharing information about identifying automatic robocall scam marketing safeguards, which includes asking to pay for services via gift cards and cryptocurrencies.

Consumer complaints about the rise in robocall scams – in which scammers use pre-recorded calls to market and sell fraudulent services – have led the Bureau of Law Enforcement to order telephone companies to avoid carry robocall traffic.

Regardless of the methods used by scammers to contact potential victims, the FDACS newsletter highlighted five red flags indicating scams.

Highlighting some of the go-to payment methods often recommended by scammers, the ad reads:

“Payment type: If you are asked to pay with a gift card or cryptocurrency, it’s a scam.”

In addition to asking Florida residents to refrain from making crypto payments, the FDACS reiterated that no government official would ask for personal information, such as their social security or credit card numbers, adding that “Only scammers will need one of these types of payment, and once you send the money, you probably won’t get it back.

Although the newsletter mentions the impossibility of tracing hackers’ crypto funds, many companies, including Velodrome and Curve Finance, have managed to recover stolen funds – thanks to the immutable nature of blockchain technology.

Related: US Lawmakers Urge Mark Zuckerberg to Tackle ‘Bedroom Ground’ of Crypto Scams: Report

On September 5, US Congressman Brad Sherman – a well-known crypto skeptic – acknowledged the rapid growth of the crypto ecosystem, saying banning cryptocurrencies was no longer an option.

Sherman said political donations and crypto lobbying make a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies impossible, adding that:

“We didn’t ban it at the start because we didn’t know it was important, and we didn’t ban it now because there’s too much money and power behind it.”

Most lawmakers, including Sherman, favor implementing strong crypto regulatory policies.