SOUTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — Police in Washington County are investigating a possible telephone scam that is targeting customers of a local bank branch.

Some WesBanco customers in South Strabane Township got a scary call this week about their accounts. Authorities say it was all a scam to get customers to turn over their account numbers.

“Saying that the WesBanco, our WesBanco, account had been frozen and to press one to reach security. [I] pressed one and the phone went dead,” said Don Saxton, one of the customers who received the phone call.

What was even more bizarre is that he got the call at 11:30 p.m.

South Strabane Township Police Detective John Bruner says Saxton wasn’t the only one to get that phony call.

“We got nearly a dozen calls and it’s disruptive,” said Detective Bruner. “What they’re doing is they’re calling, they appear to be a third party. They’re calling on behalf of the bank, in this case WesBanco, and they’re trying to obtain some information.”

The scammers have targeted the tri-state in areas where WesBanco has branches. Officials say even non-customers have gotten the call.

In a statement, officials with WesBanco say: “If customers have responded to the return call number provided in the fraudulent request and provided personal information, we are advising them to contact WesBanco immediately. We will close and re-issue bank cards that may have been compromised and do whatever it takes to safeguard the security of our customers.”

The Executive Vice President of WesBanco says less than a handful of customers have fallen victim to the scam. However, Detective Bruner says it’s important for people to protect themselves and know that scams could happen to anyone.

“They get more elaborate,” said Detective Bruner. “We really have to be cautious because there’s just so many different scams out there today.”

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WesBanco Security Alert
South Strabane Township Police
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