OCEAN CITY POLICE WARN OF PUBLISHERS CLEARING HOUSE SCAM

The Ocean City Police Department is warning citizens about a new phone scam in which someone claims to be a representative from Publishers Clearing House. In this scam, the caller tells the victim that before they can claim their prize they must pay $200 toward a “MoneyPak” re-load card.

MoneyPak cards, which are sold in stores across the United States, are debit cards

normally used to make same-day payments or add money to prepaid cards or PayPal accounts. The Ocean City Police Department warns that operators of scams are using these cards to help them cheat customers in a similar way they have used Western Union wire transfers to defraud people in recent years.

The Ocean City Police Department is reminding citizens to beware of scams. In this

instance, remember:

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If you don’t participate in the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes then you can’t win one.

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with a check.

If you do enter the Publishers Clearing House drawings, Publishers Clearing House will not call you to let you know you’ve won. They will just show up at your front door

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to send money to claim a sweepstakes prize for any reason, this is a scam.Lastly, remember that a legitimate sweepstakes will never ask you to send money to enter a sweepstakes, claim a prize or to pay a fee, tax or deposit. If you are asked