Greensburg police are warning residents of a scam this week in which a caller impersonated a local officer and requested cryptocurrency to resolve a warrant, according to Detective Sgt. Justin Scalzo.
The caller told a woman she needed to pay $1,400. The call came from what appeared to be a legitimate local law enforcement agency, but Scalzo said the scammers used caller ID spoofing. The Federal Trade Commission said that is when a scammer falsifies the information transmitted to caller ID to appear to come from a trusted source.
“Nobody from any police agency is going to call anybody and say that you owe us money, especially in any type of cryptocurrency,” Scalzo said.
It’s easy for a scammer to get the name of a local police officer from a public website and use it in an effort to get cash from someone, he said. That method can make the call seem believable but anyone who receives that type of communication should be wary, Scalzo said.
“If you believe you’re being scammed, the best thing to do is physically drive to your local police department or sheriff’s office and see what you can work out,” he said.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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