A woman lost thousands of dollars in a new courthouse scam, and investigators are warning others not to fall for it.
The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office says the woman got a call from someone claiming to be a deputy, accusing her of missing jury duty and telling her she had active misdemeanor charges.
She was instructed to go to the Allegheny County Courthouse and find the PNC Bank ATM inside the Treasurer’s Office.
The scammer gave her an eight-digit code for cardless access, then a four-digit code supposedly identifying her case.
She entered both codes, deposited $2,000 and later learned she had been scammed.
Late last month, a man lost a significant amount of money in a similar scam and another woman tells KDKA Radio she was told she had to go to the courthouse to review a signature for a summons she said she did not sign.
While the scammers kept her on the phone for three minutes, they did not ask for payment.
But Sheriff Kraus’ Public Information Officer Mike Manko tells KDKA Radio in that case, “there would have eventually been an attempt to get money from her”, adding scammers will try to wear down some people on the phone.
The Sheriff’s Office says:
- Our office will never contact you by phone to discuss missing a date for jury duty
- Our office will never request any type of payment over the phone
- Our office will never request that you use any type of kiosk, such as a cryptocurrency kiosk or an ATM in order to pay a fine and clear a charge or warrant
- Our office will never request payment using gift cards or using a payment app like Venmo, Zelle or Cash App in order to pay a fine or clear a charge or warrant
The investigation is ongoing.
Allegheny Co. Sheriff says they'll NEVER request a payment
Allegheny Co. Sheriff says they'll NEVER request a payment
