A telephone scam claiming to represent Publisher’s Clearing House tells potential victims that Bellefontaine Police Lt. Rick Herring will be contacting them about a $601,000 prize.
The caller identifies himself as a captain with the New York Police Department and tells victims they will receive a call within two hours from Lt. Herring. It appears the scam artists have researched police department rosters to falsely use the names.
After a second person calls and identifies himself at Lt. Herring, the first caller calls back and instructs the victims to purchase two $1,000 gift cards at Walmart.
The local target of the scam realized it was fake and contacted police.