Elderly Westmoreland woman scammed out of $58K

An elderly Westmoreland County woman was scammed out of $58,000 this month after handing over prepaid gift cards and cash to a person she knew only as “Dave” in Hempfield Township, according to state police.

Troopers said the suspect identified himself as a Publishers Clearing House executive when he contacted the 88-year-old woman on Dec. 5. The man identified as “Dave” asked the woman to keep his involvement a secret, police reported.

The suspect requested personal information from the victim and directed her to open up numerous accounts at different banks and transfer money to them, police said. “Dave” also directed her to buy $16,000 in OneVanilla Visa prepaid cards and Amazon gift cards.

Police said the pair met at a Sunoco gas station on Humphrey Road in Hempfield at 10 p.m. Jan. 3 and exchanged $13,000 in cards, along with $45,000 in cash authorities said was inside a shoe box.

The suspect is described as a black man who was driving a tan car.

Publishers Clearing House has a list of warning signs that consumers should consult to determine if they are being victimized by a scammer. They include:

• Publishers Clearing House does not notify sweepstakes winners by phone or email.
• The company does not request winners to send money or provide personal financial information.
• No purchase is necessary to win, and winning is always free.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@tribweb.com or via Twitter @byrenatta.