A Pennsylvania State Police Trooper patch on the uniform of a trooper. (Credit: Commonwealth Media Services)
A Quakertown area woman was scammed out of thousands of dollars of gift cards after she was told to send them as part of a cancellation fee for electric services.
Pennsylvania State Police out of the Dublin barracks said the theft by deception and impersonation occurred the afternoon of Sept. 27.
Police said the 74-year-old victim of Evelyn Lane in Milford Township was a customer of Direct Energy, but she wanted to switch back to PPL Energy.
She was contacted by a suspect acting as a Direct Energy employee, police said.
The suspect told the victim to send Target and Lululemon gift cards in the amount of $2,400, police said.
The cards, police said, were forwarded to the suspect as a cancellation fee.
The incident is under investigation.
