Crestview woman nearly loses $25K in jury duty AI voice…
A Crestview woman narrowly avoided a $25,000 loss after scammers used AI voice synthesis and caller ID spoofing to impersonate an Okaloosa County deputy
- Incident date
- Sep 2026
- Target
- Narissa Jenkins
In September 2026, a Crestview resident named Narissa Jenkins was targeted by a sophisticated scam involving AI-driven voice technology and phone number spoofing. The perpetrators posed as law enforcement officers to demand payment for an alleged failure to appear for federal jury duty.
What happened
The scammers contacted Jenkins claiming she had missed a federal jury summons, a ruse that gained credibility because she had recently received a legitimate jury notice for a different month. To solidify the deception, the caller identified himself using the name of a real Okaloosa sheriff’s deputy. The caller utilized spoofing technology to make the call appear as if it originated from the official sheriff’s office main line.
Jenkins reported that the caller sounded legitimate, noting he was "very well spoken" and lacked any accent that might typically signal a scam. The attacker demanded $25,000, instructing Jenkins to deposit the funds into a bitcoin ATM located inside a Shell gas station on Miracle Strip Parkway, which the scammer falsely described as a "federally approved depository."
When Jenkins began to question the instructions, the caller attempted to reinforce his legitimacy by offering to call her back from the official sheriff’s main number, which subsequently appeared on her phone screen. The scam was only thwarted when Jenkins noticed a disclaimer on the bitcoin ATM regarding jury duty scams and chose to drive to the sheriff’s office in person. Sheriff Eric Aden confirmed the incident was part of a broader trend where criminals leverage artificial intelligence and voice overrides to deceive victims. The sheriff emphasized that law enforcement agencies do not call citizens to demand payments to avoid arrest for missed jury duty.