CLAYTON – A Johnston County resident lost a large sum of money in a sweepstakes scam. The victim notified authorities recently after learning she had been swindled.
The 60 year-old victim said she received a phone call recently from someone claiming to be with a sweepstakes company. They informed her she had just won $22 million in cash plus a brand new truck. To claim her winnings, she had to prepay some of the taxes.
The victim unknowingly sent cash to the scammer and later sent in more money when it was requested. After a period of time, the victim provided $21,900 to the fraudster. When she refused to send in any more money they stopped contacting her. The victim then notified law enforcement.
To avoid becoming a victim, remember that a sweepstakes or lottery requires you to purchase a ticket. Never send money to claim a prize. And never provide any personal information including your bank account number.
What’s that old saying? Something about a fool and their money?
No offense, but that is her own fault.
Are people really that gullible????
God Bless her if there is an issue with her health/Dementia or Alzheimers, but if not, agree with you.
If she has dementia or some mental disorder, she should not have access to large amounts of cash. There should be safe guards in place by her family, love ones. This lady has serious issues. So sad to continue to read about these scammers.
The problem is that the guys doing this scam are located in Jamaica and say that they are with the Publishers Clearinghouse. They have money mules in the US who receive the money from victims, keep a percentage and send the rest to the perpetrators of this scam. I, along with many others, have been fighting these guys since November. We have reported many bank accts and addresses that are receiving this stolen money. This needs to be out in the open and conversations need to happen with everyone you know so they aren’t the next victims. This was absolutely NOT this lady’s fault. The scammers are very good at convincing victims into believing they actually won. Do not blame the victim, blame the thieves doing the scam.
@ That’s what I said… yes we can put partial blame on the victim because common sense tells normal people that something is wrong.