Michigan Residents Fall For Publishers Clearing House Scam, Lost Over $140,000

I would imagine that some people's brains would turn to mush if they were to get a phone call from someone telling them that they just won $5,000 a month for life from Publishers Clearing House.

I'm assuming that is what happened to a couple of residents from Troy. They apparently lost over $140,000 to a scammer pretending to be with Publishers Clearing House. That is so much freaking money to just kiss goodbye.

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According to WDIV, a man (scammer) that identified himself as “Otis Peterbank” with Publishers Clearing House, contacted the victims saying that they had won money. The scammer reportedly told them that they had won $5,000 a month for life, or that they could take a lump sum of more than $2.6 million. The only way they were told they could get their winnings was if they paid $129,000 in state and local taxes first. That should have been a huge red flag, but apparently, it wasn't.

The two residents ended up sending lottery claim forms and money to various addresses in three different states because this is what the scammer told them that they needed to do.

They ended up losing $143,955 to the piece of trash scammer.

Here's the real kicker that should have also been a red flag. The scammer told them not to use their computers or telling anyone about their winnings because it could lead to cyber-attacks and they could lose their money.

I don't know how these freaking losers sleep at night.