CRAFTON, Pa. — Crafton police are issuing a warning about an ongoing scam after a resident lost nearly $3,000.
On Tuesday, the Crafton Borough Police Department shared information saying a scammer called a resident and claimed to be “Officer Tony Hall” with the DEA.
The false Officer Hall claimed to be on a recorded line and told the victim they were under investigation for drug trafficking and money laundering.
“Through the course of the call, they provide fake case numbers and various fake identities of people they claim are law enforcement. They will throw out various banks, hoping to hit on one you actually have an account at or get you to name your bank,” police explained.
The victim in this particular case told police he removed $2,900 from his bank account and deposited it into a Bitcoin account that was provided by a scammer.
When the scammer later requested more money, police say the victim grew suspicious enough to contact their department.
“I can’t stress enough - law enforcement or any gov’t agency is never going to threaten you and demand money via cash apps, Bitcoin, Western Union, or any other format. These are scare tactics designed to get you to pull money from your bank and then send to scammers through means that make it virtually impossible to recover or even track the scammers,” a spokesperson from the department said.
Police believe the scammer is dialing in from Miami.
Anyone who receives a call of this nature is encouraged to hang up and block the number.
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