Theft of more than $35,000 in Publisher’s Clearing House scam
Police are investigating after a woman was the victim of a Publisher’s Clearing House fraud scheme that cost her over 35,000-dollars according to the Bloomington Police Department.
Police were called July 8th after it was reported a 63-year-old woman had been contacted by phone in March, and told she was a winner in the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes. Instead, she was scammed. The thieves were able to get her personal information, and thousands of dollars paid through gift cards, money orders, and personal checks.
When the woman did not receive her winnings, the police were contacted.
Police said these scammers contact as many people as possible until they find someone they can prey upon. There is almost no chance the thieves will be caught, or the woman will ever get her money back, according to the police.
Video gamer scammed
A local video game enthusiast was scammed out of 419-dollars when he bought a Nintendo Switch from a fake website, according to the Bloomington Police Department. The victim used PayPal to pay for the game system, then discovered he’d been scammed. Paypal is working with the victim to possibly reverse the charge, but asked that a police report be filed.
Construction work not completed
A Bloomington resident paid a 4500-dollar deposit toward construction that was never done. Police are investigating.
