Monday, January 26, 2015
Officials Warns Of Recent Scams
Detectives with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department are warning residents to take heed regarding two scams that have recently been circulating through the area.
One of the scams involves Publishers Clearing House. Several persons have reported being contacted by telephone by individuals claiming to represent the company. In each instance, victims report that the caller informs them that they have won millions in prize money along with a Mercedes Benz.
The caller provides what appears to be, legitimate instructions to claim the prizes and tells the victim that they “will be delivering your car to you personally.”
The targeted victims have been instructed to put money on Green Dot cards, then provide card information to the caller so that the funds may be retrieved. Once this is accomplished, the caller says you will be eligible to obtain the prizes promised. In some instances the caller has also attempted to obtain victims’ personal information, likely in an effort to steal money.
In a press release issued Monday detectives urged, “Please do not give any personal information or believe anyone calling claiming you have won a prize. Be diligent in verifying information and by no means give personal information over the phone to anyone. THIS IS A SCAM! To appropriately handle this situation simply hang up and do not respond to their calls or requests.”
A second scam reported recently by local citizens, detectives say, is a Facebook scam. They explain, “An unknown person will attempt to send you a message as someone from your friends list and tell you they have won money and they saw your name as a winner too.
They will then request you to add an unknown person as a friend and request you go to a website to put in personal information so you can receive your prize. THIS TOO IS A SCAM!”
Detectives urge residents, “If someone contacts you via Facebook make sure to contact the person directly to verify they sent you the message. If the message in any way directs you to a website to input personal information, remember that this is a scam. Please do not respond.”
