Latest news with #MeghanSchiller
CBS News
6 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Pittsburgh-area woman warns of jury duty scam phone call
A Pittsburgh-area woman wants to warn others about what she calls a very concerning scam phone call. It involved spoofed phone numbers and very detailed personal information. She reached out to KDKA Consumer Investigator Meghan Schiller in hopes of spreading the word. Melissa Stalder works from home in Upper St. Clair and the phone's always ringing. That's why when a strange number popped up, she didn't think twice. "A gentleman was on the phone and he said, 'This is Sergeant Darin and you were supposed to report to jury duty this morning in federal court and you didn't, so there's now a bench warrant out for your arrest," said Stalder. She said the man claimed he worked in law enforcement with the local courts downtown. "I believed him. He gave me a citation number and he gave me the Tango Alpha Charlie with the number, and then he said I have to bring a passport, an ID, a proof of address," she said. When she questioned if he was calling the wrong person, she said, "He had my address, he had my full name, he said that I am an upstanding citizen without any other prior convictions or issues with the law, which is true." He told Stalder she'd soon receive a phone call to pay the fines and sure enough, a spoofed call with "Allegheny County" appeared on the caller ID moments later. "And I asked that gentleman his name and I asked him to spell it and he got very irate and nasty and called me names and I said, 'if you're going to behave this way when I'm just asking a couple questions, I don't think this is right.'" Her intuition was right. Her husband later called the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, and they found no record of Stalder missing any jury duty or owing any fines. KDKA Investigates forwarded Stalder's message to the DA's office and they said this is considered a courts fine scam. The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office recently issued public service announcements about the rise in the very scam. "And they wanted you to pay how much?" KDKA's Meghan Schiller asked Stalder. "Four thousand dollars! He said otherwise, I would be in contempt and would have to spend 30 days in jail," she said. Stalder says it felt so convincing and she fears for others. "When my husband and I talked about it afterwards, I was like, if they had called my mom, I think she would have paid it. And he said, he goes, I don't know what would have happened if they had called his parents or somebody that wasn't that aware or doesn't know that these scams happen so often." Stalder said it freaked her out when the caller knew a lot of her personal information, including her name, address, birth date and criminal background or lack thereof. She now wants everyone to be on the lookout for these calls because she could see these scammers scaring people out of a lot of money.
CBS News
22-04-2025
- CBS News
Record number of travelers plan to hit the road for summer vacation, survey shows
A recent survey shows summer 2025 is shaping up to be the season of exploration. KDKA Consumer Investigator Meghan Schiller explains why a record number of Americans plan to pack their bags for some destinations a little more off the beaten path. Nearly half of all Americans, 44 percent, plan to go on vacation this summer , with a majority either maintaining or increasing their travel frequency compared to last summer. "Things are shifting. Travel is back," said Kristen Taylor, vice president of operations for Vacasa. "We obviously saw a lot of change during COVID. We saw the lockdowns. Then we saw the travel boom. Staycations have been a big thing the past few summers. So, people going to real close markets, staying in their own cities, maybe being a tourist in their own town." Taylor with Vacasa, a short-term vacation rental property company, says people plan to stay stateside this summer, but now want to travel outside of their city. Vacasa surveyed 1,000 Americans hoping to find out where people want to go, finding 65 percent of travelers are headed to the coasts. "We learned, first and foremost, water destinations, fresh adventures, nature escapes and staying stateside were the big takeaways," said Taylor. "So, the locations themselves were no surprise. People are looking for beautiful, warm beaches. For our East Coast, our Midwest travelers, Ocean City, Maryland, can't beat it. Historic, beautiful Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was a really big one." We can't forget Florida with places like Destin, Miramar and Panama City Beach taking top spots, along with the Outer Banks in North Carolina and Hilton Head Island in South Carolina . And forget solo adventures; 48 percent of Gen Z travelers (with birthdates between 1997 and 2012) plan to travel, and most will bring friends. "The Gen Z traveler is really the dominant group right now. So, they're traveling with groups of friends, work remote, have a little more freedom and flexibility, and then being able to pop around to different locations," said Taylor. And don't underestimate Gen X (people born between 1965 to 1980). They officially claimed the top spot for planning family vacations, with 57 percent planning to travel with kids, beating the 54 percent of millennials (born between 1981 to 1996) traveling with littles. "There's some smart spending going on. There's a lot of deal hunters. So, the Gen Z and the millennial traveler are definitely looking for those deals, and they're seeking destinations where they can unplug," said Taylor. Speaking of unplugging, the survey says the great outdoors are calling, with 29 percent planning to hit a national park and 27 percent hoping to visit a lake.
CBS News
08-04-2025
- Health
- CBS News
UPMC pauses Penn Hills IVF lab services, leaving couples scrambling
Staff at a UPMC lab in Penn Hills discovered a problem late last week, sending shock waves through a community of patients trying to grow their families. UPMC uses the impacted lab along Rodi Road to incubate and grow embryos for in vitro fertilization. It also stores some frozen embryos in preparation for embryo transfers. KDKA Consumer Investigator Meghan Schiller talked to one couple who said this sudden closure left them scrambling. The couple wished to remain anonymous but said they received a call from the doctor over the weekend, telling them their planned Tuesday embryo transfer procedure would be canceled. "We were so close to doing the embryo transfer. We were right there, and just to hear everything's canceled within a couple of days of the transfer, that, you know, that just rips your heart out," the husband said. UPMC released a statement saying, in part, "UPMC upholds the highest quality standards for the IVF services we offer. We are pausing IVF lab services so that we can perform essential lab maintenance in order to meet these standards." The husband involved said he acted fast, calling another non-UPMC clinic, getting all of the necessary paperwork signed and picking up the embryos at UPMC on Monday before transferring them in his car to the new clinic. "I keep making the joke, like I felt like the guy in 'Jurassic Park' with the shaving cream thing, you know, transporting the embryos," he said. He added: "Thank goodness that, you know, the nurses at UPMC and the staff at UPMC, you know, despite, you know, what they're going through, they were able to help us out quickly, and to get the transfer and to move everything along to a new facility over the weekend." It was a frantic rush because his wife's procedure couldn't happen any other day. They'd spent thousands of dollars on medications and medical monitoring in preparation for this procedure. Many other UPMC IVF patients mid-cycle expressed similar concerns and fears on Reddit, hoping for clearer communication and reimbursements to come. One patient who talked to KDKA on the condition of anonymity expressed concern that the lab's closure could have impacted the growth of her developing embryos. That patient was told an issue with the lab's "air handling system" sparked the closure. "And the other thing, too, is just, you know, I mean there's money lost, of course, because you know, we've had to, you know, get prescriptions again, and constant appointments. But, you know, more than that, it's just the time loss." KDKA-TV reached out to UPMC for clarification on the closure and they released an updated statement, saying they're pausing IVF services to perform "essential building maintenance," adding the pause will last two weeks.
