FBI Pittsburgh warns of phone spoofing scam
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — FBI Pittsburgh is warning about a telephone spoofing campaign that's using its number.
The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office says the caller, who pretends to be a special agent and uses a phone number that shows as FBI Pittsburgh's, addresses the victims by name and tells them their identity has been "compromised" and used to open fraudulent bank accounts and send suspicious money transfers overseas.
The FBI said the caller tells the victims because the transactions appear to come from them, they'll be prosecuted.
The caller tells the victims to prove their identity by purchasing money cards with all the funds in their bank account and then reading the card numbers and sending photos of the cards, the receipt and their face, the FBI said.
The victims are then told there will be a face-to-face meeting to verify their identity and return the funds, but the FBI said that the meeting never takes place.
FBI Pittsburgh says it's seen several instances of these scams with losses between $1,000 to $6,000 impacting victims across the country.
The FBI said law enforcement will never call you if you have an arrest warrant, they'll never ask you to send money or gift cards and they'll never ask you to send pictures or videos of yourself.
Officials said to be on the lookout for calls from law enforcement saying the court is holding you in contempt for failing to appear for jury duty or requesting any kind of money to clear court fines or avoid jail time.
If you get a call or message from someone pretending to be law enforcement or the FBI, call 1-800-CALL FBI or submit a report online.
