RSS Feed
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Local couple not fooled by fake sweepstakes scammers Scammers claiming that a Wilkes County couple had won millions came up against a pair of retirees too sharp to be fooled, and they want to warn others to watch out. "They called Thursday and told my wife Patsy they were from Publishers Clearing House," said George King, "and that they were coming to our house that afternoon with a check for two million dollars. But, they said, they needed $500 from us to 'pay Georgia taxes.' Well, we're not that gullible." The scammer wanted to set a time when they could come by the Kings' home to pick up the money. "Patsy was a 911 operator for 14 years, and she's seen all kinds of scams. The first time they called, she got very upset, and the second time they called, she called the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office,"King said. "The scammers had all the information on my wife, where we lived and everything." Deputy Luke Montgomery came to take the Kings' report, and while he was there, the scammers called again, trying to set a time to come to the Kings' house to exchange their bogus prize check for the retirees' hard-earned money. Sheriff's Investigator Jimmy Harrison is investigating the case. Mr. King also called the legitimate Publishers Clearing House, who warned him that it was a nationwide scam. "They said that the real Publishers Clearing House never calls winners," he said. "They said they either send certified mail, or just show up with a big check. They don't ask for money, ever." The Publishers Clearing House website PCH.com has a page concerning the scam, and warns: "A legitimate sweepstakes will NEVER ask you to send money to enter a sweepstakes, claim a prize, or to pay a fee, tax or deposit. If you are asked to send money to claim a sweepstakes prize for any reason you are being scammed. There is no legitimate reason for someone who is giving you money to ask you to wire money back." The PCH.com site asks people who believe they are a victim of a fake check scam using the Publishers Clearing House name or logo, to contact the company toll-free at 800-645-9242. Consumers are also advised to contact the National Fraud Center at www.fraud.org.
The fake check scam is far from the only scam that Wilkes County citizens are being approached with. Although they've been around for years, Nigerian e-mail scams, in which people are offered millions of dollars to help someone get cash out of some country, are still new to some people. A Wilkes County man, who doesn't wish to be identified, said that a family member was scammed out of several thousand dollars in "fees" because they had answered an e-mail from a "desperate African widow" and, after being contacted by phone, was convinced to pay thousands to get millions. The millions, of course, never came.
|
for larger version       |
|||||||||||||||||||||
