State police: people continue to be fleeced by scams
Pennsylvania State Police are reminding people to remain vigilant and never send money — whether cash or gift cards — to unknown individuals as residents continue to lose significant amounts of money, in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars, due to ongoing scams.
There has been an increase in the number of in-person pickup scams, where criminals arrange meeting locations to collect cash or gift cards directly. Some scammers instruct victims to use bitcoin ATM machines to complete fraudulent transactions. Some residents have been contacted by scammers who claim they are with federal or local authorities. The scammers have instructed victims to meet with an “agent” to make a cash payment or payment in gold to avoid legal consequences.
No one should agree to meet with anyone or have them come to your home, police said.
Gift card scams remain especially common. Police said gift cards are for gifts, not payments. Anyone demanding payment through gift cards is a scammer. Once you provide a scammer with the card number and PIN, the funds are typically gone and cannot be recovered, police said.
