Prescott Valley PD warns of ongoing sweepstakes scams

The Prescott Valley Police Department (PVPD) is sending a warning out to the public regarding scams. Many of our community members have fallen victim to scams where they have reportedly won either Publishers’ Clearinghouse or an International Sweepstakes that they don’t remember entering.

The lure is that they have “won” a prize worth thousands of dollars, if not millions.

If it sounds too good to be true, it simply is. These scams follow the same path.

The way it works is you have won a large prize, however, in order to claim it, you have to pay taxes, fees, and duty fees.

The contact, who often claims to be an attorney, requires you to send gift cards, bitcoin or MoneyGams to someone who is usually located outside of the country.

Often, you are required to send the money secretly or to someone claiming them to be a family member. These scams are pretty elaborate, police say, and the suspects go to great lengths to convince their victims they are in good hands. At the end of the day, the victims suffer the loss of thousands of dollars. The suspects are unidentifiable, and money is not recoverable.

If you receive a phone call, text, or email that you are one of the lucky winners of an incredible prize, please call the PVPD at 928-772- 9261 and ask to speak to one of the Crime Prevention Officers before you send any money.

The PVPD can be contacted at (928) 772-9267 for non-emergencies, 911 for emergencies. Yavapai County Silent witness is 1-800-932-3232.

Information provided by the Prescott Valley Police Department.