PITTSBURGH — FBI Pittsburgh is warning the public of a new telephone spoofing campaign where the caller is portraying themselves as a special agent.
According to officials, the scam is targeting Western Pennsylvania residents and the caller ID shows up as FBI Pittsburgh.
Officials said in recent cases, the caller addresses the target by name and says their identity has been compromised. The caller also says their name has been used to open fraudulent bank accounts that were used to send suspicious money transfers overseas.
The caller then states that because the transfers appear to be coming from the victim, they are to be prosecuted by the FBI and the only way to prove their identity is to purchase Money Cards with all of the funds in their bank account.
The victim is told to read the card numbers to the caller and text photos of the card, the receipt and their face.
Officials said that after the victim sends all of the information, they’re told there will be a face-to-face meeting set up to verify their identity and return their funds. That meeting never happens.
To date, this scam has seen several occurrences with losses ranging from $1,000 to $6,000, FBI Pittsburgh said.
FBI Pittsburgh also said victims have been found in other parts of the country.
FBI Pittsburgh put out the following list of suspicious activity to look out for regarding this scam:
- Calls from local law enforcement stating an individual has fines for outstanding warrants.
- Calls from local law enforcement stating the court is holding the individual in contempt for failure to appear for jury duty.
- Requests for monetary gift cards (visa/green dot etc.) bank deposits, and voucher purchases to clear court fines or avoid jail time.
- Requests for videos or pictures of individuals conducting a personal strip search of themselves to clear court fines or avoid jail time.
Law enforcement will never call you if you have an arrest warrant, nor will they ask you to send money or gift cards to clear a warrant. They will also never ask you to send pictures or videos of yourself for any reason, FBI Pittsburgh said.
To report a call or message from someone portraying to be law enforcement or the FBI, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov with as much caller information as possible.
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