Florida’s seniors thought they were safe from criminals behind bars.
They were dead wrong.
And Florida Sheriff Wayne Ivey just exposed one shocking scam targeting seniors that even prisons can’t stop.
Criminals are running scams from behind bars using contraband phones
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey delivered a wake-up call that has Florida’s senior population on high alert.
The veteran law enforcement officer revealed that criminals aren’t letting prison walls stop them from targeting the state’s most vulnerable citizens.
During his appearance on Florida’s Voice Radio with Drew Steele, Sheriff Ivey revealed the disturbing truth about how scammers are operating right from their prison cells.
"Florida’s got a tremendous senior population, which makes our seniors more vulnerable for fraud, scams that are coming from abroad," Ivey explained. "Some of them are being perpetrated by inmates in state prisons that are able to smuggle in contraband, a cellphone, and do it right from their cell."
The sheriff’s revelation paints a disturbing picture of how technology has transformed the criminal landscape.
Inmates who should be cut off from the outside world are finding ways to smuggle contraband cell phones into their cells.
Once they get their hands on these devices, they’re using them to launch sophisticated scams against Florida’s seniors.
"Technology has certainly changed the game," Ivey stated.
Scammers are demanding cryptocurrency to avoid detection
The criminals have evolved their tactics to stay ahead of law enforcement.
Sheriff Ivey revealed that scammers are increasingly demanding payment in cryptocurrency like Bitcoin to make it nearly impossible for authorities to trace the stolen funds.
"Depending on what facilitator they’re using, they may not even cooperate with law enforcement," Ivey explained.
This creates a perfect storm for criminals who can target seniors from behind bars and then demand payment in a form that’s incredibly difficult for police to track.
The impact on Florida’s senior community has been devastating.
"But at the end of the day, the primary targets in these frauds and scams are our seniors," Ivey said. "Some of them are losing their life savings, their retirements — the things they banked on to take care of themselves."
In Brevard County alone, Sheriff Ivey’s department has worked more than $12 million in fraud cases targeting seniors using cryptocurrency scams since 2021.
The jury duty scam is fooling seniors across the country
One of the most common scams involves criminals posing as court officers.
The scammers contact seniors claiming they missed jury duty or failed to respond to a court summons.
They then demand immediate payment to avoid arrest.
Sheriff Ivey has a blunt message for anyone who receives one of these calls.
"We tell everybody — if you get that phone call, tell them to come get you," Ivey declared. "Pack a toothbrush and wait on the porch, because it’s not real."
"We don’t warn you before we arrest you. We just come surround your house and kick your door in," the sheriff added.
The Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia issued a similar warning about the jury duty scam after residents reported receiving multiple calls from suspects posing as sheriff’s office employees.
The scammers told residents to pay using prepaid cards to "lift the bond" and avoid going to jail.
Law enforcement agencies are making it clear that they would never ask someone to pay money over the phone to make charges disappear.
Florida Attorney General leads the fight back against prison scammers
Sheriff Ivey recently joined Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier at a press conference to announce a statewide crackdown on these scams.
The event brought together law enforcement partners from across Florida to address the growing threat.
"The attorney general said it best — Florida is not going to let these criminals off the hook," Ivey stated. "We’re going to recover the money stolen from our seniors, lock their butts up, and keep them locked up."
The press conference was attended by Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, Commissioner Mark Glass of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Director Ricky Dixon of the Department of Corrections, and members of the Office of Statewide Prosecution.
The coalition represents a united front against criminals who think they can hide behind prison walls while victimizing seniors.
Sheriff Ivey emphasized that education is the key to stopping these scams.
"You show me any problem in the world today, and I’ll show you where education and awareness is part of the solution," he said.
The sheriff’s department has made resources available at brevardsheriff.com for seniors who want to learn how to protect themselves from becoming the next victim.
Florida’s seniors have worked their entire lives to build their retirement savings.
They shouldn’t have to worry about criminals stealing their life savings from prison cells.
But thanks to Sheriff Ivey’s warning, seniors across Florida now know what they’re up against.
