Scams A'plenty in Northeastern Beaufort County: Be Careful | Eastern North Carolina Now

For Immediate Release:

   On July 10, 2012, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office received two fraud reports related to lottery scams. The unrelated victims lived in Washington and Pantego. In both cases the victims were contacted by phone and told they had won a cash prize. The suspects stated they were calling from “Clearing House” sweepstakes and requested the victims to purchase a money card to claim their winnings. The suspects instructed the victims to provide the card number to them and wait for the delivery of the prize the following day. When the prizes were not delivered, the victims realized that the money card they had purchased had been emptied and that they had been scammed. These victims were defrauded of $905.00. Information collected in the investigation indicates that the suspects are operating out of Jamaica on cellular phones.

   The public is cautioned to be suspicious of anyone that contacts them and requests money or account information in order to receive a prize. These scams take many different forms and may use phone calls, emails, letters or text messages to contact potential victims. Scammers frequently target the elderly because older generations are often more trusting and have access to cash savings. Scammers will continue the scam with a victim as long as they can convince the victim to keep sending money.

   Please remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is not. These thieves pray on people with fixed incomes or who are in need of money to pay bills such as medical expenses. Anyone that has questions about a potential scam should always contact local law enforcement before sending money or providing any account or personal identification information to persons they do not personally know and trust.

    Major Kenneth L. Watson
      Beaufort County Sheriff's Office