Thorsby police chief warns of scam

Published 10:10 am Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Thorsby Police Chief Rodney Barnett is warning of a telephone scam after it was reported by two local residents.

Barnett said the two Thorsby residents have reported being targeted by scammers within the past two weeks.

In both instances, they received phone calls from someone claiming to be associated with “Publishers Clearing House” and informing the residents they had won a cash prize—$20,000 in one instance.

Then, the callers began asking for personal information, such as a driver’s license number, Social Security number and bank account numbers, purportedly to facilitate the transfer of the prize to an account managed by the resident.

“There’s a scam being run, and the citizens need to realize that I think good common sense is the best guard against it,” Barnett said.

Barnett encouraged residents not to release sensitive personal information over the telephone.

The police chief added that if a scammer is able to steal money from a resident, such cases are among the most difficult for law enforcement to prosecute.

“Somebody’s going to fall for it eventually,” Barnett said. “People just need to realize that there’s nothing for free.”