Beware call saying you won

PROVO — Utah County police are asking the public for help in cutting the line on a telephone scam that appears to target the elderly and well-to-do.

Officers warn residents that if they receive a call — and hear the phrase, "You are a winner!" — there is a big chance you could lose some cash.

"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," said Russell Billings, a Provo police detective. Police have received several complaints of such phone calls over the past few months.

Billings said a person informs the caller that they are a winner of a significant cash prize in a sweepstakes. Citing duty fees, the caller then asks the resident to wire between $1,400 to $1,700 to them in order to receive the prize.

Toni Hargraves of Orem said she learned her lesson the hard way.

"He was just so convincing," she said of the man on the phone who asked for — and received — $1,600 of her money.

Hargraves said she received a call in May from a man who informed her that she had won $83,000.

"They said it was a Canadian lottery, and that I had won this money," Hargraves said. "I feel so stupid, but it was the way he talked. He was saying, 'I'm telling you the truth.' "

Hargraves said she sent $1,600 via Western Union to Canada in hopes of getting her cash prize. After several days, she called a 1-800 number and got a recording and no reply. Three weeks later, she said, she got another call from the same people, this time asking her to send $1,400 more.

"I said, 'I'm not sending you another damn dime,' " she recalls telling them.

Billings said another Provoan reported being taken by the "Canadian lottery" for $3,200.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, telemarketing scams cost Americans an estimated $40 billion each year. Of the some 140,000 telemarketing firms, the justice department estimates 10 percent are involved in fraudulent activity.

Billings said an elderly Provo woman last week was told by an unsolicited caller that she was a "runner-up in a sweepstakes and won half a million."

The caller reportedly asked the woman to send $10,000, he said.

Fortunately, Billings said, the woman thought twice before sending any money.

These latest incidents have prompted police to warn people against giving out any personal information.

Billings said people can protect themselves from being taken by a scam by simply not giving out any personal information, particularly bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, and even driver's license numbers.

Billings said anyone who has received such a phone call should report it to their local police department.

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