Bay County Sheriff’s deputies are warning residents about a scam involving a fictional grant, promising to shell out thousands of dollars in exchange for a few hundred.
Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Ruth Corley says her office has already received several complaints from people claiming to receive cards via UPS from a group calling themselves the National Media Group.
“The card has information on it, claiming that the recipient has just been awarded a government grant worth more than $20,000,” said Corley. “All the intended victim has to do is call a 1-800 number to receive that grant money, but it also instructs the recipient to send money to cover processing the grant money.”
And, Corley warns residents to stay away from these types of scams.
“So, the Bay County Sheriff’s office just wanted to advise people to simply throw the card away,” added Corley. “This is a scam. You never send money to anyone that is requesting a fee to award you grant money or lottery money or somebody just decided to give you money.”
If anyone thinks they’re a victim of this scam, they should contact the Sheriff’s office.
For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner.