South Perth resident loses $32,500 to Publisher’s Clearing House scam: police

Stratford police said a resident from the Township of South Perth reported losing over $30,000 to a Publisher’s Clearing House scam.

Police said the resident was told they had won $12,000,000, but before collecting the prize, they were required to send pre-paid Visa cards for the taxes on the prize money.

“The initial funds were sent, however, the victim believed the situation to be a scam and refused to send any more funds,” police said in a news release. “The victim was later contacted by a second individual and arrangements were made to send month through various bank accounts.”

Police said it is believed the scammers got access to the victim’s bank account and made it appear that money was being deposited, with the victim then being asked to forward those funds to various accounts.

Several transactions were sent until the bank account was frozen and the individual was advised it was due to fraudulent transactions, officials said.