Treasurer Stacy Garrity is warning Pennsylvanians of a new scam involving false promises of a state grant and fraudulent requests to pay taxes using gift cards.

In this scam, unsuspecting residents receive a call, an email, and/or a letter claiming to be from the Pennsylvania Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve Bank, fraudulently indicating that the recipient will be awarded grant money.

In at least one case, the recipient was told to make the supposed tax payments with gift cards.

“This is a vile and outrageous scam. Fraudsters and scammers are despicable criminals who will stop at nothing to exploit innocent people to steal their hard-earned money. I urge everyone to stay vigilant and be extra suspicious of any communication that seems too good to be true,” Garrity said.

Based on the facts currently known to Treasury, this appears to be a multi-faceted scam.

Those who believe they have been the victim of a scam or attempted scam should immediately report it to the Federal Trade Commission, the Pennsylvania Attorney General, and their local law enforcement agency.

If you or anyone you know has received suspicious correspondence claiming to be from the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, please contact Treasury at https://www.patreasury.gov/contact/ or by calling 717-787-2465.

Attorney General Michelle Henry recently posted information to help prevent Pennsylvanians from falling prey to scammers perpetrating common holiday scams, including email and text phishing, delivery stealing, online marketplace deals, and more.