{"id":1697,"date":"2026-05-27T04:10:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T04:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1697"},"modified":"2026-05-27T04:10:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T04:10:36","slug":"tampa-man-loses-hundreds-to-scammers-impersonating-sheriffs-office-as-more-floridians-are-targeted-by-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1697","title":{"rendered":"Tampa man loses hundreds to scammers impersonating sheriff’s office as more Floridians are targeted by scams"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla.<\/strong> – <\/span>A Tampa man says he lost hundreds of dollars after falling victim to an elaborate scam that convinced him he was speaking with the Hillsborough County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>

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Derek Haydt says the scammers used fake court documents, threats of arrest and a cryptocurrency ATM to take his money.<\/p>

“What am I in trouble for?”<\/h2>
<\/div>

Timeline:<\/p>

“What am I in trouble for? What have I done?” Haydt recalled thinking when the call first came in.<\/p>

Haydt says he was at work when he received a call from someone claiming to be with HCSO. The caller told him there were warrants out for his arrest because he had failed to appear in court.<\/p>

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\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>

The scammers then sent Haydt documents with his name, address and even a signature they claimed showed he had been notified by the post office.<\/p>

Fake documents\u00a0<\/h2>

“According to them, I was being recorded on a government line, and they wanted me to acknowledge that I was aware of what my citations were and what fees were going to be,” Haydt said.<\/p>

Haydt says the scammers kept him on the phone for hours. He says they sounded professional, with what appeared to be radio chatter in the background that made it seem like a real law enforcement office.<\/p>

Then, they told Haydt he needed to pay a portion of his “bond” through what they described as a special government ATM.<\/p>

“They said that there was these government ATMs that they had set up in multiple different locations,” Haydt said.<\/p>

The callers directed Haydt to a machine inside a South Tampa gas station, which turned out to be a Bitcoin ATM.<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>

“I literally [am] standing in front of the ATM, tell him, \u2018I really hope this isn\u2019t a scam because this is all the money I have in my account right now,\u2019” Haydt said.<\/p>

Haydt says the scammers assured him he would get the bond money back once he arrived at the sheriff\u2019s office and verified the documents. Haydt deposited about $800 before the callers abruptly hung up.<\/p>

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That\u2019s when Haydt realized it was all a scam.<\/p>

“The only word I can really think of is\u2026 I\u2019m just devastated,” Haydt said.<\/p>

Florida among top states for scam reports<\/h2>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

Haydt is not alone. According to the Better Business Bureau, Florida is consistently one of the top states for scams and fraud reports.<\/p>

Bryan Oglesby, with the Better Business Bureau serving West Florida, says scammers often target Florida because of its large retiree population and concentration of wealth.<\/p>

“Florida and California are usually the two top states when you look at BBB reports and even Federal Trade Commission reports,” Oglesby said. “Florida is always in the top of the list when it comes to scam and fraud.”<\/p>

The BBB says scammers are also using more sophisticated tactics, including spoofed phone numbers, fake documents and AI-generated materials that can make scams harder to spot.<\/p>

Still, Oglesby says the demand for payment is often the biggest red flag.<\/p>

What you can do:<\/p>

“No legitimate company. No law enforcement. No government agency is going to ask you to go to a Bitcoin ATM machine, put your real money in that and send that code over to them,” Oglesby said.<\/p>

The BBB says requests for payment through Bitcoin, gift cards, wire transfers or peer-to-peer payment apps should immediately raise concern.<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>

Haydt filed a police report with the Tampa Police Department, but says he has been told there may be little chance of recovering his money.<\/p>

Now, Haydt says he hopes sharing his story keeps someone else from falling for the same scheme.<\/p>

“I would rather be the last than have multiple other people get scammed like this,” Haydt said.<\/p>

HCSO says it is aware of scams involving people impersonating deputies. The agency reminds residents it will never ask for payment over the phone, through gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency.<\/p>

Read more Bay Area nonprofit helps battle the \u2018summer slide\u2019 with everyday reading tips for kids<\/a><\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Tampa man says he lost hundreds of dollars after falling victim to an elaborate scam that convinced him he was speaking with the Hillsborough County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,13],"tags":[8,14],"class_list":["post-1697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-tampa","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-tampa"],"yoast_head":"\nTampa man loses hundreds to scammers impersonating sheriff's office as more Floridians are targeted by scams - Tampa moving journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1697\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tampa man loses hundreds to scammers impersonating sheriff's office as more Floridians are targeted by scams - 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