May 18, 2018 2 min read

A Canonsburg woman was conned out of almost $3,000 by a caller who claimed to be a borough police officer and said she needed to get bond money for her husband to secure his release from custody.

The 60-year-old woman told Officer Michael Blair Wednesday she was at work when she got a call on her cellphone, and the caller identification indicated it was her husband. When she answered, the voice on the other end was not her husband, but a man who identified himself as a Canonsburg police officer.

The man claiming to be the officer told the woman he had her husband in custody in connection with a million-dollar fraud case, and she needed to send money for bail so her husband did not have to sit in jail. She told Blair she was frightened because her 65-year-old husband had recent health problems.

She told the caller she would get the money. As directed by the caller, she drove to various places, including her bank, where she withdrew $4,890. She then was given an account number and directed to drive to another bank, where she deposited $2,750.

As she started to drive to the next location, with the caller still on the line, she started to become leery. She told police she began asking questions, then ended the call and called 911. A 911 operator told her Canonsburg police did not have anyone in custody, so she notified borough police.

Canonsburg Chief Al Coghill said police would never ask for bond money.

“That is a function of the courts,” Coghill said. “And the court would never contact anyone for bond money. That is done by the person who has been arrested.”

This is not the only scam police have received complaints about recently, the chief said. Coghill said some residents have been getting calls from someone claiming to be from the federal Internal Revenue Service saying they have an arrest warrant for the person receiving the call. The IRS has repeatedly stated it will only contact someone by mail and never by telephone.