Pennsylvania state police have issued an alert to residents about a phone scam that appears to be targeting the elderly.
Officials say the scam involves the caller informing the victim that they’ve won $18,000 in a sweepstakes but have to pay $500 in taxes in order to receive it. The caller asks for a pre-paid “Green Dot” card in the amount, which works like a debit card. Several complaints have been registered in the area about the scam, the most recent being a woman who called police rather than handing over her account numbers and avoided what could have been a bad situation.
Unfortunately in today’s technology age, it’s all to easy for scammers to steal from unsuspecting people, and the elderly seem to get preyed upon the most. Authorities warn never to give out a password or account number to anyone over the phone and to use good judgement about online purchases to avoid theft.
Police say the caller has been traced to Jamaica. No arrests have been made.