The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office would like to remind everyone about the prevalence of telephone scammers who continue to take advantage of our community. In a recent case, an elderly Troutdale resident was scammed for over $2,000.00, by a foreign scam claiming the victim had won the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes. Through the hard work of the US Postal service and Multnomah County Sheriff's Deputies, a bulk of the money in this case was returned.
Sheriff's Office detectives get these types of calls weekly and want you to remember that it is illegal for anyone to charge a fee for you to collect any type of winnings, and that U.S. Citizens do not win foreign sweepstakes. Anyone who receives a call asking for money should follow these safety tips;
1.Hang up the phone and DO NOT SEND MONEY!
2.Do not provide personal information over the phone to anyone calling you claiming you won a prize.
3.Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes award winners are notified in person by their prize patrol. If you are contacted and asked to send any form of currency (such as wired, prepaid gift cards, green dot cards or cash) then it is a scam. They will never ask you for a processing fee or tax to be paid on legitimate money won.
4.They may claim this deal or your prize money will go away if you don't act now. Do not be pressured into sending money, most funds are not recovered once sent to scammers.
5.They may give you an address or phone number to call in the United States to legitimize their effort. Scammers use fake contact information to convince victims to give money.
6.If you are adamant you want to send money, please contact the police, a family member or friend and tell them about the call first. If it is too good to be true, it probably is.
7.Contact Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Elder Crimes Detective Jay Pentheny at (503)988-4450, to ensure the call is not a scam.
Sheriff's Office detectives get these types of calls weekly and want you to remember that it is illegal for anyone to charge a fee for you to collect any type of winnings, and that U.S. Citizens do not win foreign sweepstakes. Anyone who receives a call asking for money should follow these safety tips;
1.Hang up the phone and DO NOT SEND MONEY!
2.Do not provide personal information over the phone to anyone calling you claiming you won a prize.
3.Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes award winners are notified in person by their prize patrol. If you are contacted and asked to send any form of currency (such as wired, prepaid gift cards, green dot cards or cash) then it is a scam. They will never ask you for a processing fee or tax to be paid on legitimate money won.
4.They may claim this deal or your prize money will go away if you don't act now. Do not be pressured into sending money, most funds are not recovered once sent to scammers.
5.They may give you an address or phone number to call in the United States to legitimize their effort. Scammers use fake contact information to convince victims to give money.
6.If you are adamant you want to send money, please contact the police, a family member or friend and tell them about the call first. If it is too good to be true, it probably is.
7.Contact Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Elder Crimes Detective Jay Pentheny at (503)988-4450, to ensure the call is not a scam.