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 sweepstakes.”
Sgt. Ben Hancock reiterated the same advice, “You should never have to send money to somebody if they’re claiming to be giving you money in the long run.”
A New Jersey couple was just charged in connection to conning several people across the country into thinking they won the popular sweepstakes contest.
Authorities say they would call up their victims, tell them they won large sums of money and other prizes, and then tell them they needed to pay cash, money orders, gift cards, fees, or IRS payments to secure their winnings.
The couple swindled multiple people in at least nine states out of at least $1.1 million and as much as $2.2 million.
According to the FTC, people reported losing more than $10 billion to scams in 2023. Imposter scams in which people pretend to be bank or government officials or technical support experts were the most effective hoaxes.
Scams that started with phone calls resulted in the highest per-person loss. Older adults are also three times more likely than younger adults to report losses on prize, sweepstakes, or lottery scams.
An AARP report from last year also revealed that Americans over 60 are targeted in online and phone scams at rates that add up to billions of dollars in losses per year.
That report estimates that roughly $28.3 billion is lost to elder financial exploitation each year, including cases in which perpetrators include family members, friends, or advisers.
However, many of the ploys that account for those losses go unreported.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of exploitation doubled.
The Federal Communications Commission reported that scammers targeted older Americans during the pandemic over concerns about their health and finances.
Imposter scams related to stimulus checks, overdue payments, filing extensions, and other tax-related topics surfaced during that time.
Hancock said it’s unlikely that authorities will be able to catch the scammer or recover the woman’s money. He said people should air on the side of caution if they’re asked to send cashier’s checks or deposit money into a Bitcoin ATM.
