Administrative Office of Pa. Courts warns of reported phone scam. April 2021
Pennsylvania’s Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) is advising the public to be on the lookout for a recently reported phone scam.
The scam involves calls that “spoof” or mimic the AOPC’s telephone number, the AOPC is warning. During the spoof call, those being targeted are told of alleged unpaid court fines and outstanding fees. Should the fees not be paid, the caller threatens to place the individual on the Pennsylvania sex offender registry.
The AOPC advises that it will never place calls or solicit payment by credit card, gift card, or any other means of electronic funds transfer for any reason.
Should you receive a phone call from a number or an individual claiming to be involved with or calling from the AOPC requesting money or payment of fines, fees or court costs, do not provide any sensitive information or forms of payment of any kind.
Anyone receiving calls of this nature is encouraged to hang up immediately and contact state and/or local police as well as the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection at (800) 441-2555 or [email protected].
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Recently, a resident of the Borough of Pleasant Hills received a phone call from someone representing himself as a representative of Publisher's Clearing House. The caller said the resident won cash and a car among other prizes. They told the resident to purchase three $500 gift cards from CVS and then call him back at another number to provide pertinent information relating to each gift card purchased. Please note: this is a SCAM. Do not purchase gift cards when receiving these types of calls.
The Pleasant Hills Police Department would like to remind residents of potental Phone Scams. Recently, scammers have tried to extort money by claiming a relative has been taken hostage or has been in an accident and money has to be sent to resolve the issue.
There have also been calls from persons claiming to be from Microsoft Corporation. The say that your computer has been emailing Microsoft and that it has a virus they need to remove. They then ask you to type a command into your computer that will give them remote access to your computer.
If you receive a phone call you feel is suspicious hangup and dial 911.