Police: $8,600 lost in two gift card scams
Apr. 13—Two Crawford County residents are out a combined $8,600 after falling victim to separate gift card scams in March, according to Pennsylvania State Police at Meadville.
On March 21, a 71-year-old Union Township man's computer froze and a message appeared on the computer screen directing him to call a phone number to unlock it, police said.
The Union Township man called the number and was told by an unidentified man the only way to fix the computer was to pay $5,000 in store-purchased gift cards, police said.
The man purchased $5,000 in gift cards and provided the card information via phone. The man realized he had been scammed when the computer still was not operational, police said.
On March 22, a 61-year-old East Fallowfield Township woman told state police she was contacted via Facebook by multiple accounts advising her of an opportunity to apply for a federal grant.
The woman was told to purchase $3,600 in gift cards and send pictures of the gift card information to the Facebook accounts to apply for the federal grant, police said.
The woman was told she would receive a refund for all the gift cards purchased once the grant money was obtained, police said.
The woman realized she had been scammed and then reported it, police said.
