ORLANDO, Fla. – A South Florida woman — who has asked not to be identified — received seven to eight calls from a man who said she had just won $4.5 million and a Mercedes Benz from Publishers Clearing House.
“He knew my name and he knew I lived in Southwest Florida,” she recalled.
The woman told News 6 she was returning from her father’s funeral when the first call was received this past August explaining what prizes she had won.
Because of a storm near Fort Myers, her train was delayed but the man, who identified himself as Jefferson Cooper of Publishers Clearing House, assured her the Prize Patrol would be ready when she returned.
“He said that’s all right the crew would be waiting for me when I got off the train to come home,” she said.
News 6 obtained one of the last voicemail messages she received.
It appeared to originate from the state of Pennsylvania: 267-696-7545.
News 6 called the number and ironically, it connected to a phone app service called “Found.”
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The voice message said the service is designed to protect against robocalls and that this number had not been “configured” yet.
The WKMG-TV viewer said she contacted News 6 after seeing our report about Ocala nurse June Martin, a victim of a recent Prize Patrol scheme set up by text messages and photos of two Mercedes sedans and actual members of the PCH Prize Patrol.
Martin told News 6 she lost $1,500 in gift cards after paying the “vendors” who would be bringing her cash prize and choice of cars.
Chris Irving of Publishers Clearing House told News 6, “There is no Jefferson Cooper that works at Publisher’s Clearing House,” and there are no fees to pay.
“It’s just another example that just gets us boiling mad,” Irving said. “These are imposters, these are criminals. It’s awfully maddening for us and your viewers, I’m sure.”
Irving told News 6 the company has heard similar recordings through the years, but “Publishers Clearing House does not call consumers to tell them that they’ve won a prize.”
“No legitimate sweepstakes, and certainly not Publishers Clearing House, would ever ask for money to claim a prize. It’s a scam!”
Irving told News 6 an actual $1 million prize would be delivered somewhere in the U.S. very soon by the real Prize Patrol.
If you have a consumer or investment issue, contact us at makekendsmeet@wkmg.com or simply text the words “make ends meet” along with your issue and contact information to 407-676-7428.
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