Scam Tells Hudson Valley Residents They are Millionaires

Sorry to say, but if you were told over the phone you won almost $2 million, you were probably being scammed!

The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office is alerting citizens to a new scam that is being attempted in the Hudson Valley. Residents are receiving phone calls from someone who claims to be from the Publishers Clearing House.

The caller tells the victim that he or she just won a prize of $1.9 million. The scammers then say that in order to receive the nearly $2 million prize they must pay a $350 processing fee. The victim is directed to send the fee in certified funds to a post office box in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

There are few variations of the scam, where the target is told to send a money order, bank check or provide a credit card number, officials say.

The scammers are very aggressive, police say. In one case, a scammer called the victim for three straight days, until the victim agreed to send money.

Senior Citizens seem to be the scammer’s favorite target. Officials recommend you check on your elderly relatives and neighbors in order to prevent them from being scammed.