Online Lottery Blog »
mega millions lottery »
Mega Millons »
Megamillion » Oregon woman targeted in ‘Mega Millions scam’ – January 11th 2012
by: admin - Category:
A 60-year-old woman from Portlandin Oregon has been targeted by a fraudster who called numerous times to tell her she had won the Mega Millions prize Giveaway.
Linda McDonald revealed that the man – who claimed to be somebody called Jon Farrell – told her she was the lucky winner of the prize, but in order to collect it she had to pay him $425 which would be picked up from her home by “a representative” for tax reasons.
In addition to saying she had won a cash sum, the con artist added that the woman had also landed a new vehicle and free fuel for the car for a year.
Furthermore, the total sum the victim had supposedly scooped changed, with amounts varying from $50,000 to $1.25 million.
The bogus caller claimed the giveaway was a scheme organised by Wal-Mart and other chain stores, but when Ms McDonald rang the supermarket to check this detail, it was revealed she was not the first to have been scammed in such a way.
Lottery fans who enjoy playing USA Mega Millions should not panic about this, because the police are working on the case and have revealed the numbers used to make the calls are already under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and Nigerian law enforcement.
One way lottery players can make sure they are not being reeled into fake schemes such as this is by purchasing their USA Mega Millions and other lottery tickets online at theLotter – because then if a fraudster tells them they have won a prize for buying their ticket at a certain store, they will know this is not true.
Fortunately, Ms McDonald – who is a cancer sufferer and lives on a fixed income – kept her suspicions at the front of her mind and did not give the criminals any money.
Since reporting her ordeal to the police, it has been revealed several households have been contacted in the Portland area and the rest of Oregon with the caller peddling the same bogus story.
Sergeant Pete Simpson of the Portland Police Bureau told KGW News: “These people are very vicious on the phone and will threaten victims’ lives … if the caller does not cave in to the unrelenting phone calls.”
