Saxonburg police have noticed an increase in scam calls being made across the township, according to Chief Joseph Beachem.

“It seems like we’re getting an abnormally high volume of scams,” Beachem said.

On Monday, Saxonburg police warned residents in a public release to be wary of callers demanding money through wire services such as Western Union. A common line, police warned, is that someone will be called and tell the potential victim that they won a sweepstakes and must pay a fee to collect the prize. The scammers want money to be sent over wire transfers because they’re nearly impossible to track down, Beachem said. And over the past year, the police department in Saxonburg has received a noticeable increase in people complaining of possible scams.

Other scams reported to police include a caller claiming to be a government official, like a police officer, and saying that the person being called has incurred fines and must pay using a service such as Western Union. While Beachem noted that the nature of the crime makes it hard to find the source of the scam, they urge people to call the police if they receive calls from people soliciting money.