Monday, June 22, 2009

Scam Artist Targets Ethridge Man

   An Ethridge man filed a complaint with authorities during the weekend, indicating that he had been targeted by some sort of scam artist.

   The resident reported that the man had called his Pleasant Valley Road home shortly after 11:30 Sunday morning, claiming that his name was “John Carter,” and that he was a representative of Federal Express. He informed the resident that he had the “Lucky Ticket Number” and had just won $5.5 million. When the resident informed the caller that he did not believe him, he said the man gave him a telephone number and instructed him to hang up and contact the Claims Department. He then gave him a reference number, claim number, and an approval code to have on hand.

   The resident told deputies that he hung up as instructed and called the number. He said that the same man answered the telephone and began to again talk to him about his winnings. He reportedly told the man that he was authorized by the Internal Revenue Service to “keep 32% of the winnings for taxes, and needed to know if he believed in God.” At this point, the resident said the man began to ask a series of questions such as:  What would you do with the money? Are you married? Do you have a credit card?

   When he indicated he had no credit card, the man said the caller hung up.

   Deputies report that the resident gave out no sensitive information that might jeopardize his bank accounts, etc.

   The matter remains under investigation at the present time.

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