Full Notification

The Mercersburg Police Department is warning the public of telephone call scams that have been received by residents of the Mercersburg area involving receiving a large amount of money in sweepstakes or winning a foreign lottery. These types of scams have increased to epidemic levels over the past few years.

There are dozens of variations of the lottery winner telephone scam, but all of them have one thing in common: the supposed winner is instructed to send money before the prize can be released.

If you are asked to send money before you can receive your prize, it is always a scam. It doesn’t matter what reason the caller gives, it is always a scam, every single time. Don’t make it easy for a thief to steal your money. If you get a call that you have won a lottery or sweepstakes, hang up immediately.

The Consumer Protection division has received reports from across the country about these lottery calls. Unfortunately, despite warnings issued by local, state, and federal authorities, there have been victims who have sent off hundreds, even thousands, of dollars in response to these phony prize notification calls.

Of great concern is the fact that these scammers often prey on the elderly. We all need to remind our older loved ones that there is never a valid reason for someone to require you to pay money up front before you can collect a prize. We are asking all Mercersburg area residents to talk to their elderly relatives, friends, and neighbors and make sure they are aware of the dangers of telephone lottery scams.

In one of the current version of the scam, the caller claims the victim has won an international lottery with a cash prize of $2.5 million and a new Mercedes, but those prizes cannot be delivered to the winner until certain fees or taxes have been paid.

The scam artists identify themselves as lawyers, customs officials, or lottery representatives, or even as federal officials, and tell people they’ve won vacations, cars, or thousands—even millions—of dollars. The scam artist tells the individual to purchase one or more Green Dot, MoneyPak, or PayPal cards to pay the fees and then call the prize notification person with the identifying numbers on the card. Those numbers are all the scam artists need to drain the money off the card while the victim is still on the phone. Once the card numbers have been given to the scam artist, the money is gone and cannot be recovered for the victim.

The scammers make use of technology in their scams, from auto-dialers that can place hundreds of calls a day and mapping programs to pinpoint the victim’s exact location to prepaid cards and online payment options that give them instant access to the victim’s money. Scammers use Internet based applications such as Google Maps to give them information about their targeted victim or where they live to make the victim believe the caller is in the local area.

The Mercersburg Police Department urged Mercersburg area residents to hang up on these prize notification calls and offer the following reminders:

1. If you are asked to pay any money out of pocket before the prize will be released to you, it is a scam. It is also illegal under federal law.

2. 2. Never pay any money from your bank account or through money wire payments or payment cards like Green Dot MoneyPak, PayPal, or any other cards or form of payment.

3. Never play along with the caller. Report the matter to the Attorney General’s Office or other law enforcement.

4. Be suspicious of anyone asking you to send money and contact the Attorney General’s Office if you have questions or need assistance.