ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Northern Regional Police said a 74-year-old Wexford woman lost $17,000 to a scam and now her life savings is gone.
The scammer called and pretended to be a federal agent, saying there was a warrant out for her arrest in Texas and she needed to pay a fine.
“She was really scared. She went to several different banks withdrew the amount of money they requested, put it in a package and sent it off out of state,” said Chief John Sicilia for Northern Regional Police.
UPS store workers realized something was wrong and called police. Chief Sicilia said they are getting scam reports weekly and it has increased a lot over the last few months.
“This poor lady lost her life savings and we are fed up with it, so we are trying to take a proactive approach,” said Sicilia.
He said officers now plan to visit senior living facilities, like St. Barnabas in Richland Township and the Waters of Wexford in Warrendale, to let them know the warning signs.
“Both of them are very concerned about the well-being of their residents, so we are going to send officers in to talk to the residents one-on-one or in a group setting to talk them about what to be aware of and not fall for these scams,” said Sicilia.
The Waters of Wexford said collaborating with the police for this educational workshop is an example of how we can help protect not only our residents, but also the community at large.
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