Area residents are being warned about a phone scammer who is making his way down a call list that includes Kenai/Soldotna area phone numbers.
Craig Ralston of Nikiski reports that he received a call on his cell phone Thursday afternoon from a man who advised him that he had won $2.5M in a Publisher’s Clearing House Giveaway. The caller offered confirmation numbers and also told Ralston that he had won a new car.
Ralston had actually entered the Giveaway and was familiar with their notification delivery being in-person on your doorstep with flowers, balloons and a film crew . He pressed the caller for details, and the scammer hung up.
The scammer then called the next number on his list, which happened to belong to Ralston’s wife.
Craig Ralston: “Mine was a Lexis and he told my wife a Mercedes S Class. My wife, when he said that she won a car and that she just had to pay for some shipping – so told him that well I’ll pay you when the car is delivered -when the money is at the bank, and then he hung up on her.”
The next phone number belonged to Ralston’s daughter who noted the incoming number was registered in Jamaica. The scammer made some crude suggestions prior to hanging up on her.
Ralston called couple numbers before his and, after speaking to the number owner realized it wasn’t just his family being targeted. Ralston then dialed a couple numbers ahead to warned people about the scammer prior to calling KSRM News.
The KSRM News contacted the scammer at 1-876-839-4248. The scammer confirmed that he represented Publisher’s Clearing House Giveaways, but advised there were no awards associated with our phone number or name.
KSRM News Director Dorene Lorenz: “Did you say this is the Publisher’s Clearinghouse?”
Scammer: “Yeah.”
Lorenz: “Really?”
Scammer: “Yeah, I think we have the wrong number….we called the wrong number…It wasn’t you…Okay, Sweetie?”
Those who receive phone solicitations they believe to be scams are encouraged to report them to local police as well as online at Scam Response.
Story as aird on KSRM News:
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