A scammer conned a 73-year-old Michigan woman out of nearly $700,000 after convincing her she won a million-dollar sweepstakes from Publishers Clearing House.
According to the Troy Police Department, the scam began months ago when the woman was mailed what appeared to be an official notice from the popular sweepstakes company claiming she won $3.5 million, a car, and $7,000 a week for life.
Then, someone who posed as an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission contacted her and persuaded her to send sizable payments over several months to secure her winnings and pay storage fees for the car she won.
In total, the woman sent more than $669,500 before she gathered that something wasn’t adding up with the sweepstakes winnings and told a friend. Her friend told her it was a scam and she reported it to police on March 17.
“She went back and forth, sent multiple cashier’s checks, deposited money into bitcoin ATMs, which was then transferred into the suspect’s account, and also bought a couple of pieces of high-end jewelry and sent them to the suspect,” Sgt. Ben Hancock with the Troy Police Department said. “Like the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Publishers Clearing House is a sweepstakes company that regularly gives cash, trips, and other prizes to those who enter its contests. The company often uses the Federal Trade Commission to transfer prize money, according to ClickOnDetroit.
However, the United States Inspection Service has tried to warn others against Publisher Clearing House scams. A notice on their official government website alerts readers on how to “protect yourself against scammers posing Publisher Clearing House.”
It reads in part, “The PCH Prize Patrol comes in person to the door of major winners with balloons and roses! You may be contacted by mail, but PCH never calls in advance.” Adding, “You never have to pay to claim a prize from PCH or any other legitimate…
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