Greensburg, PA -- Westmoreland County Detectives are urging potential victims to be aware of a sophisticated scam targeting the local area.
A victim from Greensburg received a phone call from a private number stating they missed a court date and there was a warrant issued for the individual.
The unknown caller instructed the victim to go to a gas station and pay for the fine in cryptocurrency and then urged the victim to report to the sheriff's office to ensure the court payment was resolved.
The victim reported to detectives that the caller had a local dialect/accent and knew personal details about the victim including their place of employment, home address, social security number, and texted the victim fictitious court documents.
When investigators attempted to call the phone number associated with the text message, it came back to a spoofed landline number from Mount Pleasant.
The victim reportedly lost $1,000 as a result of the purported scam.
Law enforcement is urging residents to be aware and vigilant of these sophisticated scams; never give out personal information over the phone, and never pay in forms of gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.
Potential victims are encouraged to hang up on the unknown caller and report any suspicious activity to your local law enforcement agency.
