Sweepstakes scam

Hank hung up the phone with a smile. The caller had told him he had won $25,000 in a sweepstakes that Hank didn’t remember entering. “Oh well,” he said to himself. “I forget lots of things these days.” He thought for a few minutes about the $5,000 the caller instructed him to send for taxes on his winnings. It seemed like a lot of money, and he hadn’t received a check yet. Hank decided to call his daughter Beth before he sent anything. She would know if sending the tax money now was a good idea.

Beth told her dad that the sweepstakes call was a scam. She was relieved that he hadn’t sent any money or given the caller any information, especially bank account details. Beth had heard about scams like this targeting older people. Fraudsters contact targets via phone, email or text with news about a sweepstakes win, and request tax money before they forward the winnings. Many people fall for the scam and send money, which can’t be retrieved. Beth and Hank called Lake City Bank’s One Call Center to report the scam so that the bank could watch for other callers who might be targeted.

When in doubt, call the One Call Center at (888) 522-2265.
If you have any questions about cybersecurity, you can ask them using the form on our Contact Us webpage by visiting https://www.lakecitybank.com/contact-us/