Florida govt warns against auto warranty scammers asking crypto payments

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) issued a warning sharing insights into identifying robocall scam marketing auto warranties, which includes being asked to pay for the services via gift cards and cryptocurrencies. 

Consumer complaints against increasing robocall scams — wherein scammers use prerecorded calls to market and sell fraudulent services — led the Enforcement Bureau to order phone companies to avoid carrying robocall traffic.

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

Stressing on some of the go-to payment methods often being recommended by the scammers, the announcement read:

“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 officials would ask for personal information, such as their Social Security or credit card numbers, adding that “Only scammers will require one of those kinds of payment, and once you send the money, you probably won’t get it back.”

Although the newsletter mentioned the impossibility of tracking down crypto funds from hackers, numerous corporations, including Velodrome and Curve Finance, have successfully recovered stolen funds — thanks to the immutable nature of blockchain technology.

Related: US lawmakers call on Mark Zuckerberg to address ‘breeding ground’ for crypto scams: Report

On Sept. 5, United States congressman Brad Sherman — a well-known crypto skeptic — acknowledged the rapid growth of the crypto ecosystem, claiming that banning cryptocurrencies was no longer an option.

Sherman stated that political donations and crypto lobbying make blanket banning cryptocurrencies impossible, adding that:

“We didn’t ban it at the beginning because we didn’t realize 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 strict regulatory policies on crypto.