CORNWALL, Pa. — A Lebanon County woman was scammed out of $2,700 after receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be with the U.S. Marshals Service in Texas, according to the Cornwall Borough Police Department.
The scammer threatened to arrest the woman unless she bought multiple prepaid gift cards and provided the caller with the card numbers, police said.
Investigators say the scam artist told the woman if she went to police she would be immediately arrested.
Before going to police, the woman went to various stores to purchase gift cards.
When the woman arrived at the police station, she was still on the phone with the scammer. The call lasted approximately 4 1/2 hours, police said.
Don't be a victim
There are steps you can take to protect yourself from scams:
- If you are uncertain if a call is a scam or not, call your police department for help.
- Police will never call and ask you to pay fines over the phone with prepaid gift cards.
