Coast woman sent thousands after a scam Facebook message said she won lottery, sheriff says
Two South Mississippi report residents lost money when they were scammed by phone and online, according to the Jackson County sheriff and Biloxi police.
Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell said in a press release Wednesday that a Vancleave woman got a Facebook message on saying she’d won the lottery.
“Earlier this week, a Vancleave woman sent thousands of dollars to two different addresses to pay taxes on a lottery she never won,” Ezell said in the release.
She told investigators a person named George sent the Facebook message that told here where and how to pay the taxes on the winnings so she could collect the money.
Earlier this year a Georgia woman lost thousands of dollars on a similar scam.
“These type of frauds and scams happen every day,” the press release said. “We advise citizens to not fall for them or sent any money to anyone they don’t know.”
Biloxi Police Department reported Wednesday that a Biloxi resident got a phone call from a man who identified himself as a Coast Electric employee.
“The individual told the citizen Coast Electric merged with Mississippi Power and the citizen’s recent payment was not processed as a result,” police said.
The resident was told he needed to pay $404.61 with a “money pack card” to settle the balance of the bill or the power would be turned off, police said. The resident purchased the card at Home Depot, called the number the scammer provided and gave the card number.
Police report the resident was contacted again from the same phone number by another person who identified himself as a Coast Electric employee. The resident was told that because of the merger, a deposit of $355.95 was required of new customers or the power would be disconnected.
“The citizen again completed the process before contacting Coast Electric and learning of the scam,” Biloxi Police reported.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Biloxi Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at 228-435-6112, Biloxi Police dispatch at 228-392-0641, Biloxi Police Criminal Intelligence Unit at ciu@biloxi.ms.us, or Mississippi Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898 mscoastcrimestoppers.com.
This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 1:42 PM.
