Crime & Safety
Fraudster Tries Swiping $39K from Stillwater Man with a Lottery Scam
Just two days after the drawing for the largest jackpot in Mega-Millions history, a Stillwater man received a call saying he won the lottery and needed to cough up $39,000 in taxes and fees. But he called the fraudster's bluff.
What would a $656 million lottery jackpot be without the residual fallout of a fraudster trying to cash in with some half-baked scheme?
Not the fraud-ridden world of 2012, that's for sure.
Just two days after it was announced that three winning tickets were sold in Kansas, Illinois, Maryland were to split the largest jackpot in Mega-Millions history, a Stillwater man received a phone call from an unknown number stating he won the lottery, but first he had to cough up $39,000 for “taxes and fees.”
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The man saw the ploy for what it was: a poor excuse of a scam; and called police.
The alleged fraudster told the man he’d be by the man’s Stillwater home at 5 p.m. to make the exchange.
Find out what's happening in Stillwaterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Police advised the resident if anyone showed up to call the cops—but the fraudster didn’t show.
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