Police agencies warning about an increase in multiple scams

Police in the Pittsburgh area are warning about recent scams.

The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday they were notified by Munhall Police that a woman contacted them to report she was scammed out of nearly $30,000.

The scammer claimed to be from the sheriff’s office.

The victim got a call on April 22 and said they were Commander Leo O’Neill and that they oversaw the courts division.

They told the victim that they had an active arrest warrant and had to go to two different Coinstar machines and convert money into cryptocurrency using an app.

Police say the woman converted over $28,000 and that “there was no information on the receipts from the machine to indicate where the crypto was being sent.”

The sheriff’s office say they understand that getting this type of call can cause stress but to remember:

Our office never discusses warrant information over the phone

Our office will never request payment of any kind over the phone

Our office will never use electronic transfers or payment apps such as Venmo and Zelle to request payment

Our office will never request that payments be made in the form of cryptocurrency Our office will never direct you to use any type of payment kiosk Pittsburgh Police are also warning of an increase in scam calls.

Our office will never direct you to use any type of payment kiosk

Pittsburgh Police are also warning of an increase in scam calls.

They say a business owner in the City of Pittsburgh was recently contacted by someone who claimed to be from “Publisher’s Clearing House”.

They were told to send $125,000 in cashier’s checks to different addresses to claim the prize.

The victim called 911 when they realized it was a scam.

Pittsburgh Police also are warning about something called the “grandparents’ scam”.

A senior is called an told their grandchild or other loved one is in jail, in an accident or in trouble and money needs to be sent.

Police say that just this week, a scammer tried to target a couple by making them believe their accounts and investments have been compromised. The couple realized it was a scam before it was too late.

Pittsburgh Police provided these tips:

If a phone call seems unusual or unlikely, it probably is.

When in doubt, hang up immediately and call your bank or financial institution directly to a phone number provided on a bank statement or official bank website, never from an email link.

Banks will never ask for PIN numbers or one-time access codes over the phone.

Avoid answering or block calls from repetitive unknown, or blocked numbers. Don't rely on caller ID.

Sophisticated scammers can spoof phone numbers to make it look like your bank.

Never divulge personal or private account information over the phone, email, or text to unknown people.

Don't click on unsolicited emails or text messages where the sender is not familiar to you.

If you believe you’ve been scammed or someone is attempting to scam you, to call 911 and report it.