Two-point-two million dollars PLUS $5,000 a month – unfortunately, she didn’t win the car.
That’s what one Cherokee County resident told WEIS Radio News Friday morning, which, of course means the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes scam is back.
Our caller told us she knew for a fact that it was just another scam – and she toyed with the con artists before hanging up on them. She cut to the chase by asking the would-be crook “Okay, just how much money do I have to send you for ‘fees’ in order to collect my millions?”; the answer: Just 300 bucks. All she had to do was go to Walgreen’s or any other department store that sold “Green Dot” cards, then purchase a card in that amount and call them back with the number, and as easy as that her 2.2 million would be delivered to her home that very afternoon.
She hung up on him. Which is exactly what YOU should do if you receive one of these calls.
Afterwards we spoke with Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver who informed us that they’d received several reports of similar attempts to extricate money from unsuspecting citizens. He also noted that the callers will in many cases harass local residents by repeatedly calling back and the best way to handle that is simply don’t answer the phone. Eventually, the con-artists will move on to greener pastures.
Bear in mind, most of these scams originate OUTSIDE the U.S. so once your money is gone – its gone for good.
The only real defense against this type of crime is to be aware of the reality of the situation, and don’t fall for it. As Sheriff Shaver pointed out, “The old saying always holds up – ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,’” – and in this case, that’s a fact.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED
Telemarketers and/or scammers are a lot like a rash: incredibly irritating, hard to get rid of and even less welcome. And, unfortunately, they’re persistent.
It seems hardly a day goes by that we don’t have at least one or two calls reporting scams of some sort, with many of them basically the same and most of them using the names of well-known organizations, in an effort to make their intended victim – you – think they’re dealing with a legitimate company or business.
Scammers have claimed to be employed with: Walmart, local banks, local utility companies, credit card companies, law enforcement agencies, even with the IRS and the list goes on.
The name being used most often in our area in recent months is Publishers Clearing House.
The con is pretty much the same every time: the caller says you’ve won something – maybe it’s a million dollars, maybe it’s two million, maybe it’s a new car, maybe it’s all of the above and a barrel of monkeys, whatever. You’re just that lucky.
NOW, all you have to do in order to collect those fabulous prizes according to that con artist – is send some money for “taxes”, some sort of “fee”, or whatever. Don’t send it. It’s all a lie. If anyone tells you that you have to first pay anything, before you can collect your winnings, well you didn’t “win” anything.
WEIS Radio News has spoken personally with Publishers Clearinghouse officials, who made it clear, that in the event someone does win a substantial amount of money, representatives with Publishers Clearinghouse do NOT contact that person through the U.S. Mail, via e-mail, or by telephone; instead, just like in the television commercials, they show up at your home with the prize, in person.
So if you receive any similar notification that you have “won” a large amount of money from Publisher’s Clearinghouse – don’t get your hopes up and above all don’t fall for the gimmick being used by these crafty con-artists.
If you’re ever actually a winner you’ll see a van pull up in front of your home and a bunch of very nicely-dressed people will come to your front door with check in hand.
