Alert given for newest scam

By Barry Porterfield

For one area resident a simple telephone call on Tuesday turned out to be a high pressure, in your face push for money that appears to be yet another scam.

Sue Brown of Elmore City was told she had won $450,000 from the nationally known Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes.

Oh but there was a catch — such as the instructions to send a debit check for $2,750 that very same day if she wanted to have her winnings delivered the next day.

Instead, Brown simply said no and began working to get the word out as a way of alerting area residents to this new round of phone scams.

“I thought I would come to the paper to let people be aware of it so they won’t send the money,” Brown said.

“I’m sure there’s some who think they actually won this money,” she said.

“I would hate for anybody to be taken advantage of from this scam.”

The scam was so up close Brown even received one of several calls on her cell phone as she stood in the newsroom of the Daily Democrat moments after offering her views on a most unusual day.

It all got started when the first call involved a woman on the other end telling Brown she had won the money but needed to send the debit check payment in order to receive her winnings.

“I didn’t think I even entered a sweepstakes. I thought I threw it away,” she said.

“She said it was going to be a one time thing tax free.”

Ironically enough the caller claimed the money to be sent by Brown was for delivery bonding insurance that would protect her from identity theft, telemarketers and scammers.

The woman, who claimed to be in Pennsylvania, stressed the money had to be sent before the large prize could be collected, Brown said.

When that didn’t work the caller asked for the money to be sent by cashier’s check or even straight cash.

Again Brown refused as the caller then began asking questions about the amount of money she could afford to send.

Next up was a request by Brown for some phone numbers that would allow her to confirm the legitimacy of the whole thing.

Calling one of the two numbers given, Brown said a man answered claiming to be from New York.

There she said it was a “run-around” as the man stressed they needed her money up front before she could claim her prize. Adding to the suspicion was the man’s references to homeowners and senior citizens, Brown said.

From there the Elmore City woman reported the incident to the Garvin County Sheriff’s Department as officials there suggested she contact the state attorney general’s office. Brown said she does intend to file a report with that office.

What appears to be a last ditch effort came later Tuesday when yet another call from the original caller focused on any other assets Brown could use to make a payment of any amount.

“She was asking for anything that I could give them,” she said.

“They were trying to get into my account any way they can.”

Adding to Brown’s concern is the fact the callers already had so much information about her.

“They had my address, my phone number, they had everything and I don’t know how they got it.”