The Northampton County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday it is investigating reports of a scammer posing as a sheriff’s deputy and calling residents to demand payment for Paycheck Protection Program loans.
According to authorities, the male caller then instructs the residents to repay the PPP loans at secure public kiosks that accept Bitcoin and threatens them with immediate arrest if they fail to comply.
Officials confirmed that the calls are a scam and said no legitimate representative of the Northampton County Sheriff’s Department will ever call residents to solicit money.
Anyone who receives a suspicious call of this nature is encouraged to report it to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office at 1-800-441-2555 or sc***@at*************.gov.
This local news story was reported with generative AI assistance.