Missouri woman, 91, loses $250K after falling for Publishers Clearing House scam

BEL NOR, Mo. — There were no balloons and an oversized check. Just heartache for a 91-year-old Missouri woman.

The woman was swindled out of nearly $250,00 after she was victimized by scammers who told her she had won $4 million in a Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, KMOV reported.

Barb Fish, of Bel-Nor, told the television station her mother-in-law had been sending checks to cover what she believed was $250,000 in taxes from November 2019 through February 2020. The scam began with a telephone call, Fish told KMOV.

“He got her to trust him, she told him her life story," Fish told the television station. “(She is) devastated, she is now that she knows (it) isn’t for real, she is devastated."

Scams targeting people who have won sweepstakes are not new. On its blog, Publishers Clearing House wrote that a red flag should be raised if someone tells a person they need to send money -- for taxes or anything else -- to claim a grand prize.

“At PCH the winning is always free, so we would never request payment of any kind!” the blog post said. “Remember: You never have to pay to win a PCH prize. The real Publishers Clearing House awards YOU the money, no strings attached. We would never ask you to pay some kind of fee or tax in order to claim a prize, whether through the mail, email, telephone, or any other kind of communication.”

Fish said her mother-in-law sometimes withdrew cash and mailed it, KMOV reported. Fish said when she and her husband realized what was going on, they had calls forwarded to their cellphone, the television station reported. Fish said her husband had one confrontation with the scammer on the phone, which turned very personal.

“(My husband said), 'You have done enough damage, stop calling.’" Fish told KMOV. " (The scammer) said, ‘Go sit by your daughter’s grave and cry about it.’ So he knew we had lost a daughter.".

Fish said she has contacted the FBI and said the money and checks were mailed to different addresses around the country, KMOV reported. Many of the calls originated from an 876 area code, she said.

Cox Media Group