Potential victim reports phone scam

YOUNGSTOWN -- A 70-year-old Winton Avenue woman got a call that she'd won $500,000 from Publisher's Clearing House, but became suspicious because of press coverage about scams, police said.
The caller described herself as a government agent, saying it was her job to verify the winner's identity. The caller didn't mention the agency but said government rules prohibit sending such a large check by mail.
The victim was told to send $5,000 via Western Union to secure the winnings. The check would then be delivered Monday by armored car and "Youngstown's finest." The caller, who was asked a series of questions by the victim, never gave the address of where to send the $5,000. Each time the victim asked questions, the caller responded, "Don't you trust Youngstown police?" and, "Don't you trust publishers?"
At one point, the caller told the victim that if she didn't have $5,000 in cash to send to secure delivery of the winnings she should use a credit card or borrow the money. The victim was also told to keep the winnings a secret, to tell no one, not even her children.
Once the caller realized that the scam probably wasn't working she said she'd call back with final details but never did. The victim reported the scam to police Tuesday after telling her daughter what happened.