Press Release from the Oconee County Sheriff's Office:
(Walhalla, SC) --- In our continuing efforts to educate and inform our citizens and to prevent them from becoming victims of scams, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is releasing today our February 2021 Scams Update.
The Sheriff’s Office was recently made aware of a Sweepstakes Scam. The victim told deputies that he had received a letter and a check in the mail from what appeared to be Publishers Clearing House. In the letter, the victim was told that he could claim a $2.5 million dollar prize that he had won by sending a cashier’s check in the amount of $2,500 to an in-State address for processing fees.
There was a check in the letter in the amount of $6,995.25. The instructions stated to not cash the check until the check for the processing fees was received. The victim obtained the cashier’s check from the bank and sent it to the in-State address as instructed. The case has been turned over to the Criminal Investigations Division.
“One of the biggest attractions of the Sweepstakes Scam is the appearance that someone is getting something for nothing,” says Master Deputy Jimmy Watt, Public Information Officer for the Sheriff's Office. “The attraction is spending what seems to be a small amount of money, if you will, in regards to obtaining $2.5 million dollars. Publisher’s Clearing House is a legitimate company; however, always remember that in order to win something in regards to a sweepstakes, you must enter that sweepstakes first. In this case, it does not appear that the victim entered a sweepstakes to begin with.”
The Sheriff’s Office was made aware recently of a Sweetheart Scam. A deputy met with the victim, who stated that she was repeatedly asked by a man she met online for money, gift cards and to set up a bank account in which she could wire money.
The victim was contacted late last year by someone claiming to be a senior white male widower from out of state who stated that he was working with the American Red Cross in Syria. The victim and the scammer had numerous messages and conversations exchanged over social media and the scammer was trying to develop trust in order to obtain the woman’s financial account information.
The scammer convinced the victim to go to a bank to set up an account in order to transfer money so he could travel to the United States. The scammer said that he needed $20,000.
An employee at the bank recognized this as a scam and advised the woman to contact law enforcement. The victim was advised to contact her financial institutions to report the scam and to monitor her credit reports for unauthorized activity. The victim was also advised to contact the Federal Trade Commission to report the scam and a search of social media profiles revealed numerous profiles with the same information and profile pictures.
“As we have mentioned in previous scams updates, scammers play on people’s emotions, whatever those emotions may be,” says Master Deputy Watt. “In this case, the scammer played on the emotions of love and the need for a relationship between people. We have seen this scam before. If you meet someone over social media, someone who you do not know well, and they request a large amount of money or access to a financial account, always err on the side of caution and presume that it is a scam. The employee of the victim’s bank did a great job of recognizing that this was a scam for their customer and provided good information so the victim could report the scam and monitor her credit reports.”
“Unfortunately, scammers have taken advantage of people in various ways. We must have the attitude that scammers want to steal and commit crimes against us and no one is exempt from being taken advantage of,” says Master Deputy Watt. “I do not believe that we would allow burglars to break into our homes and steal from us, if we could help it. Scammers don’t want to break into your home but they want to steal from you via an e-mail, a text message, a phone call or a social media message. Even though it is difficult, all of us must be alert and vigilant to recognize what is going on and not be taken advantage of.”
