A disabled Johnston County woman lost a large sum of money in a sweepstakes scam.
Instead of getting a letter in the mail or a telephone call claiming she had won a large cash jackpot, the 61 year-old Benson woman said she received a text message last week informing her she had won a $200,000 sweepstakes through Facebook.
After several text messages the woman was informed she needed to pay $1,500 up front with pre-paid debit cards to secure the winnings.
Johnston County authorities said the victim sent the money and was later told she needed to send an additional $6,500. Johnston County Sheriff’s Detective Lt. D.N. Pate said the victim received another text message falsely claiming the delivery driver was on the way to her home to drop off the $200,000 prize when he was stopped by law enforcement and arrested. They claimed they needed the $6,500 to bail the driver out of jail so he could complete the delivery.
The victim did not fall for the scam a second time and refused to send the money. She then contacted authorities.
Officials says legitimate sweepstakes never come with a catch, never require you to send money or make a purchase, and if something sounds too good to be true it probably is.
