Scammers hit LaRue County

If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
LaRue County residents have been hit by scammers in recent weeks. While the styles are different, the results are the same: They want your money.
Chief Deputy Russell McCoy said the “secret shopper scam” cost a local woman about $2,400 when she was fooled by a realistic-looking money order.
Secret Shopper is a legitimate company that warns consumers of the scam on its website, McCoy said. However, the scam version sends a fake money order to a victim and instructs them to cash it, keep $200 and wire the remainder “somewhere else.”
The victim was contacted by email and following the instructions, cashed a $2,300 money order at a bank. It bounced. By the time she paid for various charges, she was out nearly $2,400.
The scammer contacted her again by email and said if she would cash a second money order, they would “make the first one good,” McCoy said. She didn’t take the bait.
McCoy said another person received the fake money orders ($933.50 each) but did not fall for the scam. The money orders look original but the top is perforated.
Publisher’s Clearing House scam
A Hodgenville man was contacted by cell phone and informed that he had won a car and $5 million in the Publisher’s Clearing House. The caller claimed the victim had “signed up” for the sweepstakes at a retail store.
PCH is a legitimate sweepstakes, however the odds of winning are very slim. According to its website, it does not contact winners by phone and you never have to pay to receive your prize. PCH can be reached at 1-877-379-3377 to confirm a win.
This scam appears to originate in Jamaica.