Victim Location 73072
Total money lost $3,000
Type of a scam Sweepstakes/Lottery/Prizes
An imposter posing as a friend reached out via Facebook Messenger and said they had won Publisher’s Clearing House Mega Cash Bonus, and that my name was on the list too. My friend told me they had already won and collected her prize, and then gave me a number that I could contact. I called and left a VM and then the scammer texted me and told me I had won a prize and asked if I was ready to claim it. They sent some information for me to fill out, and then sent me a reference number, batch number, ticket number, and serial number. I was to give these to present to the prize patrol when they contacted me. I was told to keep all of this strictly confidential. The scammers said I was eligible for $150,000, but in order to claim my prize I would need to pay a delivery fee of $3,000. They said I had to pay the cash to get the cash. I was hesitant, but when I sent my friend that had originally reached out to me, they said this was exactly what they had done, plus they already had their money allegedly. It made it seem more legitimate at the time. I just wanted it to be true so badly. I ended up sending $3,000 cash with a note that said for bitcoin purchase $3,000 via the mail to Bedrock Building Materials in Ucon, ID, which turned out to be a post office box and not a physical business address. After they received the money, they then told me that in order to get the $150,000 I would now need to send $10,500 for taxes, and it would need also need to be in cash. I did not send the remainder of the money as by this time I knew it was a scam. I just wonder how many more people are being scammed the same way. It took all the extra money I had to send the first payment and then they wanted more, and I just knew it was a scam at that point.