Sheriff's office says telephone scam nets $18K from Allegheny County woman
A 33-year-old woman from Allegheny County was taken for $18,000 by scammers masquerading as members of the county sheriff’s office and FBI, the sheriff’s office said.
The woman lost $8,000 through gift cards and another $10,000 through Apple Pay on Monday, prompting the sheriff to issue a warning Tuesday.
The sheriff’s office said the woman received a call from a man identifying himself as Lt. Mullen from the sheriff’s office.
The caller claimed warrants had been issued for her arrest because she had not responded to a subpoena to be an expert witness in a case. She was told she would have to post bond or would be taken to jail and held for up to 72 hours before seeing a judge.
The brief call disconnected, and the woman could not get through when she tried to call back. She then got a call from an unidentified number that lasted nearly 90 minutes.
A person using the name Capt. Stephens told the woman she needed to pay $8,000 for bail or she would be arrested and jailed. The woman withdrew the money from her bank and was told to purchase gift cards to pay it — she bought seven $500 gift cards at Giant Eagle and the remaining $4,500 at two Rite Aid stores, and gave the gift card numbers over the phone.
“The Sheriff’s Office cannot stress enough that this is not how we conduct business involving warrants,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “We never ask for payment in the form of gift cards for anything involving the judicial system or any other aspect of our office.”
After that call, the woman got another call from a man claiming to be James Robertson with the FBI in Buffalo. She was told she still needed to clear federal charges in the case and would have to pay another $10,000, which she would get back after appearing at a court hearing.
The woman got a text message asking for the money to be paid with Apple Pay, which she did.
The woman said men identifying themselves as Mullen and Stephens spoke with a Southern accent; the man using the name Robertson did not.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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