OC Sheriff’s Office warns of Possible Scams

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is warning citizens to be aware of a couple of possible scams that have already targeted one individual in the county. Oconee County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Jimmy Watt gives details.  “A resident of Westminster received a phone call just before 4pm on June 13th from someone claiming to be an individual named Don Miller from Publishers Clearing House.  The resident said the individual spoke in broken English and the phone number showed an 876 area code, which is a Jamaican area code.  The individual told the Westminster resident that they had won $1 million, but that they would need to pay taxes before “registering it,” as the caller put it.  He then told the resident that the amount of taxes was $525 and that they must pay it by a certain day. This same Westminster resident also received a letter from May 7th of this year that contained only a mailing address, but no return address on the envelope.  The letter is from Loteria Primitiva from Madrid, Spain.  The letter claims that as the result of The Hispanic Lottery International Promotions Program, the individual who received it had won almost $5 million dollars in cash.  The letter claims that “all tickets are bought and played for international citizens by government approved, licensed, and authorized agents or companies.”  The letter goes on further to say that the payment processing form can be completed with a “photostat” copy of identification that can be fax over to a number listed.  The letter says that any commission and taxes on the winning amount cannot be deducted from the amount of the winnings “because of the insurance bond policy cover.”  The letter is printed in black and white and does not contain on the letter itself who the letter is addressed to.  The individual never sent any money in regards to either possible scam.” The Sheriff’s Office advises anyone that if an offer is too good to be true, it probably is. Under no circumstances should you ever give your personal information, such as social security numbers, bank account numbers, credit or debit card numbers, driver’s license numbers or birthdates to anyone who may ask you over the phone or in a letter or an e-mail.  If you feel uncomfortable with any offer you receive, the best thing to do is to ignore it and don’t respond.