An elderly Flagler County couple is out $2,000 after they got a phone call led them to believe they won a multimillion-dollar sweepstakes prize.
According to case report from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, the 93-year-old victim and his wife got a call out of the blue a week ago.
The couple did not want to speak to News 13, but they told a deputy the caller told them they had won $2.5 million in a Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.
But to get the money, the callers told them they'd have to buy Green Dot MoneyPak cards, which are like prepaid credit cards, in order to pay for taxes and fees on their winnings.
The victims bought $2,000 in cards over six days before finally realizing they were being scammed.
While the cards are legitimate, they've quickly become a criminal's preferred choice in stealing money from victims.
“It's an easy way to send people money or give people money but there's virtually no way to actually track who it goes to,” said Deputy Paula Priester, Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
Both Green Dot and Publishers Clearing House warn of this scam, which has been seen nationwide.
Publishers Clearing House also says they never ask winners to pay fees in order to collect.