Rite Aid Scam Targeting Elderly in Western PA

By Daniel Distant, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, June 11, 2013

A Rite Aid scam has been targeting the elderly in a false sweepstakes ploy to con them out of their money, according to police reports. An elderly woman in western Pennsylvania was scammed Saturday using the premise as well.

The Rite Aid scam involves a sweepstakes offer that says the winner is entitled to $18,000- in almost all cases, the person answering the call has never entered in any contest though. But before victims can claim the money, they're asked to purchase a Rite Aid "green dot" card for tax purposes: they're essentially debit cards used exclusively at the stores.

Once the potential victim spends $500 for the green dot card, which covers the taxes on the false sweepstakes winnings, that's usually when the perpetrators steal the money. In the case of the elderly woman from Kittaning, Penn., after giving the scammers the card's serial number, her money was accessed.

The pay-in-advance Rite Aid scam was addressed by the drugstore chain's officials, who told troopers from the Kittaning barracks that the phony sweepstakes has popped up in other areas as well, according to the Associated Press.

Though no arrests have been made in the case yet, authorities have traced the calls to Jamaica. Several others in western Pennsylvania have also complained to police about the scammers' calls.