Beware Phone Scam from “Publisher House”

LIVINGSTON COUNTY – The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office urges local residents to be aware of strange or suspicious phone calls in light of recent complaints of attempts to scam money out of Livingston County residents by phone.

According to a press release from the Sheriff’s Thomas Dougherty, the Sheriff’s Office have received a number of complaints about a local phone scam. Sheriff’s Deputies have been diligently responding to calls at various locations throughout the County.

The Sheriff said that in the scam, the caller states that they are from “The Publisher Clearing House” and that you have been drawn as the second place winner. The scammer then says that you must send a payment immediately to receive their winnings. With most calls, complainants indicated the suspect had an Indian accent.

Deputies have also investigated a similar complaint, where the suspect identified him or her self as an agent from the IRS. The suspect then advised their victims that they owe money on their income tax from a previous year. The suspect then tried to intimidate people by threatening an arrest at their home or place of employment. This is intended to place pressure on the potential victim to make a decision and send in money.

The Sheriff’s Office encourages residents to be conscientious of these types of telephone and email scams, and if the caller places any urgency on the situation, try to intimidate you or ask you to send money to receive funds, odds are it is a scam.

If you receive one of these suspicious calls and would like to speak to a Deputy, the Sheriff’s Office encourages you to call their non-emergency number at (585) 243-7100.

PHOTO CAPTION: File photo.