New Phone Scam Reported In Van Buren County

The Van Buren County Sheriffs Department is reminding everyone to not fall for phone scams in which an anonymous caller requests that money be wired to them. Seems that an elderly Bloomingdale couple recently got ripped off of 15 thousand dollars by such a scammer. In this case, someone claiming to represent an "award company" called the couple, telling them that they'd won 800 thousand dollars, but needed to pay thousands in administrative fees to receive their prize. Turns out, of course, that it was a scam based in Jamaica...the couple was swindled...and there's little chance they'll get their money back. Police advise everyone that legitimate award companies don't require winners to wire them money. You can find out more about reported scams like this at FTC.gov .