{"id":202695,"date":"2026-05-26T18:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/202695\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T18:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:10:13","slug":"heres-how-to-protect-yourself-from-scammers-during-a-summer-of-large-events-in-pennsylvania-wpxi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/202695\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s how to protect yourself from scammers during a summer of large events in Pennsylvania \u2013 WPXI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">PITTSBURGH \u2014 From the World Cup to America250 celebrations, a lot is going on in Pennsylvania this summer. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">According to Pennsylvania State Police, these types of large-scale events commonly bring out scammers trying to steal personal information or money. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">\u201cCriminals like to use high-profile events like this to prey on innocent victims,\u201d Major Serell C. Ulrich said. \u201cOur goal is to protect people from thieves by alerting them about red flags to watch out for and connecting them with information that helps prevent them from falling victim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">So, troopers dropped a list of things to be mindful of in order to avoid being scammed: <\/p>\n<p>Ticket Scams:\u00a0Criminals are likely to sell counterfeit tickets or fake digital tickets using social media or unofficial platforms. Only purchase tickets from verified platforms.Accommodations Fraud:\u00a0Be cautious of rentals, hotels, or travel packages at \u201ctoo good to be true\u201d prices. These may be scams that result in stolen deposits and compromised personal information.Malware\/Phishing:\u00a0Social media may be used to send links to photos and videos of important event moments. The links may appear valid, but when clicked, malware is downloaded. There are legitimate websites and applications specifically designed for events that can be utilized to obtain the most up-to-date and accurate information.QR Codes:\u00a0Fraudulent QR codes may be placed in areas surrounding event venues to mislead unsuspecting attendees into believing the link is for legitimate sites to purchase merchandise, tickets, parking, meet and greet opportunities, or other goods. Check to determine whether the QR codes are stickers before you scan. This is a red flag that the code may be fraudulent. Always check the website\u2019s URL after scanning a QR code and verify that the website looks official, including checking that there is an \u201cs\u201d at the end of the \u201chttp\u201d portion of the site\u2019s URL.\u00a0ATM Cash Traps\/Skimming Devices:\u00a0Use caution when using ATMs and points-of-sale terminals to withdraw funds or pay for items. These methods are easy ways for criminals to steal credit and debit card data, as well as cash. Avoid using standalone ATMS or ones that show signs of tampering. If the cash doesn\u2019t dispense immediately, report it to local law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Troopers also urge only downloading apps from authorized stores, never buy items from scalpers and avoid clicking on unfamiliar links or attachments. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Download the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpxi.com\/mobile-apps\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FREE WPXI News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Follow Channel 11 News on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wpxi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WPXI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>. | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpxi.com\/video\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch WPXI NOW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TOP STORIES FROM CHANNEL 11 NEWS <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph body-copyright\">\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 From the World Cup to America250 celebrations, a lot is going on in Pennsylvania this summer.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[22264,4738,10405,12456,7013,7014,60,5665,20523,7156,40656,12448,2924,60284,23307,4813,5672,2265,10716,14408,7683,11561,5679,61126,1399,16401,22080,83,89485,5684,21727,60287,898,28,30,29,523,1358,4528,5687,663,3860,5689,5690,8785,31898,5692,16890,89486,503,5433,89487,20266],"class_list":["post-202695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-adult","tag-background","tag-bank","tag-banking","tag-beautiful","tag-beauty","tag-business","tag-buy","tag-card","tag-close","tag-commerce","tag-credit","tag-customer","tag-debit","tag-deception","tag-design","tag-e-commerce","tag-finance","tag-fraud","tag-girl","tag-hand","tag-holding","tag-internet","tag-lady","tag-man","tag-mobile","tag-modern","tag-money","tag-notebook","tag-online","tag-pay","tag-paying","tag-payment","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-people","tag-person","tag-phone","tag-purchase","tag-scam","tag-security","tag-sell","tag-shop","tag-shopping","tag-smart","tag-smartphone","tag-store","tag-swindle","tag-technology","tag-trick","tag-trickery","tag-use"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}