A Berks County man was recently duped out of $1,000 in a phone scam, state police said.
On Aug. 30, the Pike Township man received a phone call from a phone number disguised as the phone number of the Berks County sheriff’s office. When he answered, an individual who identified himself with a badge number ad told him there was a warrant for his arrest for missing federal jury duty.
According to troopers from the Reading station:
The impersonator sounded convincing and told the victim that squad cars would show up at his home and he would be jailed for 60 days. The caller said the man could get out of his bind if he paid $4,900.
The tactics used are typical of the so-called jury duty scam in which callers pressure their victims with the threat of arrest unless they wire a large sum of money. No law enforcement or government agency will demand cash payment by phone in exchange for canceling an arrest warrant, officials said.
The victim’s bank refused to allow the man to make such a large cash withdrawal, apparently suspicious he was being scammed.
Still, the victim was convinced he would be arrested, having received a text message with a copy of the phony warrant.
The impersonator lowered his demand for payment to $1,000 via Zelle, a digital payments network that allows users to move funds from one bank account to another.
The victim sent $1,000 to the specified account and soon realized he was scammed.
Source: Berkshire mont
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