Police Warn Of This Ongoing Scam Targeting Cornelius Residents

CORNELIUS, NC — Cornelius Police are warning residents about a phone scam targeting residents by demanding payments to secure contest wins or to pay for late utility bills.

“Lately CPD has received a few reports from citizens, particularly the elderly, who have received phone calls stating they had won a contest/sweepstakes,” Cornelius Police Department said Monday.

“Be aware, if you have truly won a contest or a sweepstakes they will NOT require you to pay a fee or pay taxes directly to the company. It is illegal for a company to require you to pay a fee to win/claim your prize and any taxes due will be deducted from your winnings or they will be paid directly to the government,” CPD said.

Scammers are also targeting residents with claims they’re late on their Duke Energy bill, CPD said.

“Please be aware that Utility Companies will NOT call you to demand payment for past due balances,” CPD said.

Here’s what police say to do

• If the caller is requesting payment via pre-paid card, gift card or I-Tunes, hang up the phone.
• Do not voluntarily give up personal information to callers.
• Caller ID may show up as a local number but it's most likely a scam from outside the US. These cases are very hard to solve or reimburse for lost funds, especially gift cards.

RELATED: Scammers Scare, Extort Millions From Your Aging Parents In NC

Scammers, particularly those targeting the elderly, were convincing enough to steal $42 million from their victims over a recent 15-month period, according to a report to the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which is looking into scams against some of the nation's most vulnerable. And $42 million is just a conservative estimate of actual losses in the grandparent scam.

Overall, the top 10 scams on elderly Americans are:

1. IRS impersonation scams
2. Robocalls / unsolicited phone calls
3. Sweepstakes / Jamaican lottery scam
4. "Can you hear me?" scam
5. Grandparent scam
6. Computer scam
7. Romance scam
8. Elder financial abuse
9. Identity theft
10. Government grant scam