A series of scams have hit the Town of Smyrna over the past several weeks. All of these scams are aimed at seniors.
One scam is a letter appearing to come from Publisher’s Clearing House with a cashier’s check attached. In the letter it states the recipient has won $1.5 million dollars. The phone number is to a Canadian area code and the subject on the phone informs the caller to cash the check and mail them the cash for your taxes on your alleged winnings. Smyrna Police Chief Kevin Arnold told WGNS in an email, “Everything in this letter is false.” The letter supposedly came from the nonexistent International Lotto Commission. See the letter HERE.
Another scam seniors have been facing comes from a phone call stating they have won money, but they must pay taxes on the winnings by purchasing a “Green dot money card.” The con artist then asks the senior to call them back with the card number. So far there has only been one documented case of a Smyrna resident falling for the scam. Chief Arnold said, “Unfortunately one of our senior residents fell for this scam and has spent thousands of dollars in the hopes of getting his “winnings.”
If you receive a call or a letter involving one of these two scams, you are encouraged to call the police department.
Photo: Below - Green Dot Card: Left is the back of the card and the right is the front of the card. The photo is from the Smyrna Police Department
Source:
Kevin Arnold, Chief Of Police
Smyrna Police Department
