Scams targeting Indiana County residents

INDIANA, Pa. — State police issued a warning Wednesday about several scams being investigated in Indiana County over the past week.

The victims range from age 60 to 80 and live in different towns across the county. The victims lost anywhere from several hundred to approximately $7,000 in the scams, state police said.

The victims were told to buy gift cards for products such as Google Play, then providing the gift card number and PIN.

One of the scammers contacted the victim by sending a fake email stating they had recently been wired Bitcoin by an unknown person. The email included a phone number to call with questions about the fake transaction. When the victim called, the scammer was able to remotely access the victim’s computer and bank accounts. The scammer was able to transfer money.

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People are urged to talk about these scams with family members and remind them to verify calls, emails and text messages.

When in doubt, state police say to ignore the call and contact your local police department.

Scam: Calls claiming to be from local police department, FBI seeking Social Security numbers