Spring is in the air, along with new phone scams targeting local seniors

ELK COUNTY--The tragic loss to two Pennsylvania State Troopers last Monday in an accident on I-95 was a heavy blow to the Statewide Law Enforcement Community. Adding insult to injury, it did not take long for telephone scam artists to develop a new script to try to scam Pennsylvania residents.

As friends of the two Pennsylvania state troopers killed in a crash on I-95 created fund-raisers to support their families, the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association (PSTA)warned of phone scams calling for donations claiming to be collecting money for the families of Troopers Branden Sisca and Martin Mack. The troopers, along with Reyes Rivera Oliveras, a 28-year-old man from Allentown, were killed when a 21-year-old Eagleville woman accused of driving under the influence struck them on the interstate early last Monday. In a statement, PSTA President David Kennedy warned of scammers who had called people, including some active troopers, under the guise of collecting money for the families of Sisca and Mack.

“It’s disgusting even to have to issue this statement, but our members and others are reporting to us that they’re receiving phone calls from people alleging to represent law enforcement organizations that are raising money to benefit the families of our fallen brothers,” Kenefy said.

“The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association does not do any phone solicitation. Period,” said PSTA spokesperson Dave LaTorre.

Meanwhile, two verified GoFundMe pages have been set up to support the troopers’ families. GoFundMe has confirmed both pages as legitimate. Donations can also be made to PSTA’s Troopers Helping Troopers Foundation, which provides financial aid to families of injured and deceased troopers. It also helps ill troopers and family members who need expensive medical treatment.

This scam is one of the hundreds that assail local residents, especially targeting seniors, each day. People with landlines receive more scam calls than those who have switched entirely to mobile phones, which leads to scammers targeting senior citizens with scams designed to lure them in...