Royston Police Warn of Two Scams Targeting the Elderly

Royston Police are warning citizens, especially elderly residents, of two scams circulating through town.

The first is one we’ve been telling you about for several weeks in which a caller tells you they’re from the IRS or some law enforcement agency and threatening to have you arrested if you don’t pay the taxes they say you owe.

Police Chief Donnie Boleman says yet again, this is a scam.

“We’ve received a number of phone calls, mainly from the elderly, that they’ve received calls from unfamiliar phone numbers that they owe taxes and will be arrested if they don’t pay,” Boleman said. “This is a scam and we advise anyone who receives one of these calls not to send the caller any money, but to contact us and give us the phone number of the caller so we can get it into the system.”

Last week, Franklin County Sheriff Stevie Thomas said this scam was also circulating in the county.

IRS spokesman Mark Green says the IRS will never call you or email you about taxes you may owe nor about any other tax issue.

Boleman says the other scam involves Publishers Clearing House.

In those scams, the victim either receives a phone call or a letter in the mail telling them they’ve won millions in the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes.

In that scam, the caller or letter asks the victim to send money as a tax or processing fee before their prize is released.

“We’re trying to educate the public on these types of scams,” he said. “Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and if you have received a letter or a phone call telling you have won a contest, contact us first before you do anything because it’s likely a scam.”

Publisher’s Clearing House officials say their prizes are always free.
And if you believe you have been the victim of a fraudulent contact using the name of Publishers Clearing House, they want to know about it.
The company asks that you call their toll-free number to report it at 1-800-392-4190.
Additionally, if you receive a suspicious email fraudulently claiming to be from PCH, PCHLotto or PCHSearch&Win, forward it to the Publishers Clearing House scam reporting mailbox, [email protected].