Westmoreland County woman lost $5,000 in Secret Service impersonation scam, police say

A 67-year-old Derry Township, Westmoreland County, woman lost $5,000 after falling victim to a scam in which a caller falsely claimed to be a U.S. Secret Service agent, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Troopers began investigating the reported theft after the woman said she received several phone calls from different numbers with Washington, D.C., area codes. 

The woman told investigators she believed the calls were legitimate because of the area code.

An unknown caller claimed to be a Secret Service agent and told the woman to place money in a safe location as part of a federal case. The caller also told the woman that she was sworn to secrecy and could not contact local or state law enforcement agencies, according to police.

The woman subsequently purchased several Visa and Mastercard gift cards from Walmart and provided the card numbers to the caller, police said.

State police are reminding residents not to provide personal information to unknown callers and never to make payments using gift cards, cryptocurrency or wire transfers.

Anyone who receives a suspicious call should hang up and report the activity to local law enforcement, police said.