Residents are warned to be on alert for an online scam with the perpetrator(s) claiming to be from the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office.
The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office has received several reports, from outside of Lancaster County, about the scam which operates this way:
- The target responds to a dating website ruse, with the scammer(s) posing as a 23-year-old woman.
- During communication with the "woman," the target is sent child pornography.
- The target then receives a call, the caller alleging to be from the Sheriff's Office and demanding a $500 payment of fine. The target is told they will be taken to jail if they do not pay.
This is a scam; the Sheriff's Office made no such calls.
Anyone who believes they were targeted in this scam, should immediately contact their local police department.
"The digital world unfortunately provides limitless opportunities for scammers. There is a simple message for residents: Be alert," Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said. "Law enforcement would never contact anyone in such a manner, or make this type of demand."
Law-enforcement officials, to include the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office, are looking into the matter.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright