Rock Hill police say scam claims recipient won thousands, but requests money first
A woman claims she lost $185 in a scam by someone who claimed to be with Publishers Clearing House, according to a Rock Hill police report.
An officer met with the woman at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday. The woman told police that she received a phone call from someone who claimed to be with Publishers Clearing House, the report states.
The woman said the caller told her she had won $225,000, a $5,000 Walmart gift card and a 2016 Mercedes E-class car, the report states.
The woman said the caller claiming to be with Publishers told her she had to go to a Walmart store and send $185 via a money gram to the lead accountant for Publishers Clearing House “for confirmation purposes,” the report says.
The woman told police that though she was suspicious of the incident, she thought it sounded legitimate and sent the money, the report states.
After sending the money, the woman said she started receiving text messages asking for more money, which she refused to send, the report says. The incident is under investigation.
Publishers Clearing House says its winners are typically notified in person, not via email, and that there are never strings attached to winning a prize, according to the organization’s website.
Beware of scams
Residents should be wary of any prizes that require some type of payment, said Detective Keith Dugan with the Rock Hill Police Department.
“If they are asking for money, it’s definitely a scam,” he said. “There is nothing you are going to win where they will ask you for money.”
Dugan said even taxes on prizes are typically handled by the IRS and not the prize organization. Foreign accents and the request for gift cards or money wires are also red flags, as many scammers are from overseas, he said.
“Everyone wants to win a prize, but if it looks too good to be true, it probably is,” Dugan said.
The detective said residents should be careful with their personal information and avoid filling out scam claims or other unsecure forms online that could leave them open for identification fraud.
“We don’t know where that data is going,” he said.
If citizens experience a scam or are suspicious, they should notify local law enforcement, Dugan said. While not every incident will result in a police report, he said the department likes to know about them and will follow up when necessary.
“We would like to know what is going on in our community,” Dugan said.
This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Rock Hill police say scam claims recipient won thousands, but requests money first."