07/08/2026
Our friends over at Sewickley Borough PD shared this on their FB page. Our department and several others have been responding to numerous complaints of phone scams. This is just a reminder to all residents to be very diligent when answering the phone. Most of the time, when it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Please follow some of these steps.
Over the last ten days, officers have taken four reports regarding fraud. Each incident has involved a different type of fraud, which has convinced the victim to send monetary funds, leading to a financial loss.
First and foremost, please know that there is no law enforcement entity that will request gift cards, Western Union transfers, Cash App transactions, or Bitcoin as a form of payment for missing jury duty or to pay off warrants. If you're wondering if you have an active warrant for something, an officer will gladly confirm or deny for you. We love meeting new people, so don't be surprised if we ask you to come say hi if you do have an active warrant.
Second, if you receive a phone call or a text message advising of a fraudulent charge from your bank, check your bank account first to see if it's accurate. Legitimate banks will send you a 5 or 6-digit short code as a text message if there's an issue, not a full phone number. If you question the authenticity of the phone call or text message, do not give out any personal information and hang up. Also, if during the phone call or text message, it is recommended that you open a new account, please go to a local branch and explain your situation fully.
Third, be aware of emails you receive on a daily basis. If you question the authenticity, look at the sender's address. Most emails from legitimate companies will be pristine, whereas fake emails will typically look sloppy, have grammatical errors, or display suspicious links showing an IP address followed by the name of the company. Clicking on these links can manipulate the victim into believing they are on the actual website, having the victim enter usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal information. Scammers have become extremely convincing at impersonating trusted entities like Amazon and Microsoft, where the victim receives fake invoices or is told their account has been locked. This scam isn't just for email anymore; these phishing scams can be sent through text message too. One of the most recent was the EZ-Pass scam, where a text message claimed the victim was going to be suspended for unpaid tolls. Another reason to be aware of the links you click on is to avoid unknowingly downloading and installing a program known as a keylogger. While the program doesn't harm your device, it will allow the scammer to log everything you type. This is just another way scammers can obtain pertinent information about you and your financial accounts.
Finally, one of the more disturbing scams involves the scammer imitating a family member claiming to have been in an accident, jailed, or even kidnapped. With the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, scammers have access to voice cloning technology, which can emotionally manipulate the victim into sending money. We understand family comes first; however, if you receive this phone call, take a second and breathe. As hard as it might be, hang up and call the family member directly, establish a family phrase to use in emergencies, and limit audio posts on social media.
Every month it seems that the various scams become more common and more sophisticated. We can't stress enough that once the victim sends the monetary funds, it is nearly impossible to retrieve the money back, especially if the victim willingly sends it. We ask that everyone be cognizant that these scams are out there and the chances of one of them contacting you are real.
