N.E. Pa. Residents Fall Victim to Slew of Scams

Pennsylvania State Police in the region are offering a caution about some fairly common scams that residents are still falling for.

Troopers say on February 25, a 35-year-old New Milford man told state police he got a letter from his bank informing him someone had opened a checking account in his name.

In another scam reported February 25, a 38-year-old Friendsville woman told troopers she had shared her social security number over the phone with a man who had an Indian accent who told her he was an agent in Texas and her social security number was under investigation. The day before, a 48-year-old Laceyville woman told State Police that a man with an Indian accent told her he was a Drug Enforcement Agency agent in Texas and she was going to go to jail if she didn’t buy gift cards at Target and give him the serial numbers.  The woman bought $1,500 in gift cards, called the man back and gave him the numbers.

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And, on February 17, a 65-year-old Montrose man noticed his identity was being used by someone to get unemployment benefits from another state.

You should never share personal or financial information over the phone and public and law enforcement officials and agencies never ask people to buy gift cards or provide financial information over the phone or by email to settle legal matters.