MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Police in Cumberland County are warning the public about a new series of phone scams targeting elderly victims.
According to Lower Allen Township Police, residents have reported two types of scam calls: one where the caller claims to represent "Publisher's Clearing House," and another where the caller claims to be a representative of law enforcement.
In the first reported scam call, the caller attempted to convince the resident to go to a CVS or Dollar General and purchase gift or Visa cards to send to the caller so that their "Publisher's Clearing House" winnings could be sent to them, police said.
The second scam was a phone call from a male claiming to be from a police department in another county, authorities said. He requested the resident get $5,000 to help her grandson, who was supposedly going to jail due to being involved in an accident.
The caller went as far as having someone call the resident sounding like her grandson in distress, police claim.
"No police department, law enforcement agency, Publishers Clearing House or any legit company will ever have you make a payment via a gift card or Visa card," the police department said. "If you receive any such scam phone calls like this, the best thing to do is to hang up the phone. If it sounds like the phone call is from a company you do business with, but you are not sure, obtain the caller's name and phone number and speak to a trusted family member or your local police department before providing the callers with any identifying information.
"These lowdown dirty criminals will stop at nothing to steal away your hard-earned money. Don't let them trick you!"
