State Police Maryland State Police Warn Public About Telephone Scams

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(PIKESVILLE, MD) – Maryland State Police are warning the public about telephone scams in which the caller claims to be an agent for Publishers Clearing House, stating that the person contacted had “won the grand prize” from Publishers Clearing House, but only after paying a $250 “fee” to cover the cost of taxes.

This scam serves as a reminder that Publishers Clearing House and other sweepstakes do not require upfront fees to cover the cost of winning prizes. Visit the PCH website for further information: https://info.pch.com/tips-and-warning-signs or call their toll free number: 800-392-4190. The Federal Trade Commission also offers information on reporting telephone scams; https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0208-phone-scams 1-877-FTC-HELP.

This most recent case involved people in the Upper Eastern Shore region who reported receiving a telephone call from someone who identified themselves as “Agent John Clark” calling on behalf of Publishers Clearing House, saying the citizen had won the grand prize, but needed to send in $250 first, in the form of a wire transfer, or a loaded gift card, to cover the cost of taxes. This is just one of several telephone scams reported to Maryland State Police.

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CONTACT: Office of Media Communications
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Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: https://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at https://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at https://so.md/expungeme.