Phone scams aiming to part unsuspecting residents with their money are nothing new — they just target the Cullman area more frequently sometimes than at others.
This week, one alleged phone scam involves a call to local numbers under the guise of a well-known sweepstakes name, though law enforcement says the phony source isn’t Publisher’s Clearing House — and the promise of winnings in exchange for personal information is phony as well.
Fraudulent schemes invoking the marketing company have become so frequent nationwide that Publishers Clearing House has set up a fraud page at its website, advising anyone who receives a phone call purporting to represent the company to just hang up.
The company does not “make or authorize outgoing calls to consumers to sell merchandise or magazines, or to solicit sweepstakes entries,” its fraud page explains. Our major winners are notified by mail or in person (at our option) and we never phone ahead to disclose that someone has won a major prize. If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House and are asked to send money, pay a fee or pre-pay taxes to enter, collect or claim a sweepstakes prize – STOP – you have not heard from the ‘real’ Publishers Clearing House. The call you received was most likely from a…
