(WJET/WFXP)– Detectives from the Erie Police Department are asking for help in identifying a person they said was caught on video picking up payment from a phone scam.
Erie police released the video below on Tuesday, which shows the person in the blue late-model Hyundai Elantra picking up what appears to be a box from the victim in the 3800 block of Pine Avenue on March 31.
Erie police said the scam mimics what’s known as a trusted person pick-up scam, where scammers pretend to be from a government agency or business to trick people into leaving out or delivering money to resolve a fake emergency.
Warren police put out warning over impersonation scam
During these scams, actors often reach out with a fake emergency, like an unpaid fine or a family member in trouble, then demand that cash be delivered or meet to be picked up in order to be resolved.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday warned about scams like this in late April, describing two incidents where two families lost roughly $31,000, advising residents to never click on unknown links, not to respond to unsolicited texts or calls from unknown numbers or click on pop-up ads…