'Publishers Clearing House' scam calls in Jones county

JONES COUNTY, Miss - This is a press release from the Jones County Sheriff's Department.

It has been brought the attention of the Jones County Sheriff’s Department than an old “tried and true” scam has resurfaced in our area.

A local resident received a call from someone claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, rewarding the resident with a $10,000 prize. The calls persisted for an extended time period with the resident not responding at all.

After some time the resident did respond to the call and soon received a check in the amount of $10,000. It was after this transaction, calls continued to come with instructions of sending money back to them, in cash, for “bank fees” and other cons. The resident complied and was quickly drained of $2,000 of personal funds. Needless to say, the prize check never cleared the bank account.

It seems this scam is targeting the senior community. Please share with those you know, if a prize is won legitimately, no money should be exchanged. The old saying, “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” certainly applies.

If you have received any such phone calls, please report to the Jones County Sheriff’s Department or you can immediately call the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357.

For any additional information as it comes available, feel free to contact Allyson Knotts at 601-428-3151.