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PITTSBURGH — District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala, Jr. and the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office are warning citizens to beware of a rising threat of impostor scams in the newest Fraud Squad Alert. 

Impostor or impersonation scams can involve one or a team of scammers contacting an intended victim, posing as a representative of a well-known organization, aiming to con their target out of hard-earned money. Oftentimes, criminals impersonate agencies such as a bank’s fraud department, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

With these schemes on the rise, scammers have made their heists more elaborate and sophisticated to include multiple forms of communication like phone calls, text messages, emails and social media, and sometimes fake documents meant to dupe official correspondence from a given agency. Common impostor scams include copycat security alerts, phony subscription renewals, fake giveaways or money to claim, bogus law enforcement and made-up package delivery problems.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen an increase in reports of these scams,” said DA Zappala. “It’s a major concern to our community because scammers have no limits. They target young people, adults and seniors. They don’t care who they’re stealing from. The best recourse is providing education and information to prevent more people from falling victim to these crimes. ”

WPXI’s Nicole Ford sat down with a local family that has been recently victimized by these crimes. Visit the WPXI website to hear their story. 

To sign up tfor Fraud Squad Alerts from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, please email Cyndie Carioli at cyndieatda@gmail.com.