Jul 20, 2016 2 min read

Peters Township police are warning residents, particularly senior citizens, and the local business community, about a scam involving iTunes gift cards.

Police said someone impersonating a relative, usually a grandchild, will call the person saying they are in trouble and need money. Or in some cases, the victim has computer issues and the caller, who likely disabled the computer, will say the problems can be fixed for a price. Rather than send cash, the caller tells the person to send iTunes gift cards. Numbers on the cards cannot be traced.

Douglas Grimes, Peters Township deputy police chief, said the department received reporters of two incidents in the past week.

On July 15 at Giant Eagle on Donaldson’s Crossroads, an elderly Venetia woman purchased $10,000 worth of iTunes cards. Police said the woman claimed she was having some issues with her computer. They also learned the woman was the victim of a similar scam in 2014.

The second incident took place July 18, also at Giant Eagle. An elderly McMurray woman attempted to purchase $2,000 in iTunes gift cards.

The woman told police she received a telephone call from a person claiming to be her grandson. The caller said he had been arrested. A few minutes later, the woman received a telephone call from a person claiming to be her grandson’s attorney, who told her to purchase the cards at a CVS or Rite Aid and not tell anyone. Police contacted the victim’s grandson, who called his grandmother and said he was at work and was not arrested.

“The business community needs to be aware the scam is out there and the elderly are being targeted,” Grimes said.