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CopLightsPLACER COUNTY—

Authorities are asking Placer County residents to be weary of anyone getting a phone call or text message from people claiming to be from Publisher’s Clearing House.

The messages, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, usually say “You’ve just won!” and instructs the “winner” to go to Walmart or Kmart to buy two $500 Greendot prepaid credit cards, then call the representative back with the credit card numbers – supposedly for verification purposes.

However, by giving out the credit card numbers, the scammer is able to transfer the funds to himself and make off with $1,000.

Deputies say that the person sending the texts and phone calls has been using the same phone number: (876) 575-4199. Detectives tracked the number to Jamaica and confronted the man over the phone, only to have a “less-than-pleasant” conversation with someone going by John Hill.

Hill is not a representative of Publisher’s Clearing House.

Authorities note that in international cases like this, it’s more than likely that any money stolen by scammers is likely unretrievable.