KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — High lottery jackpots, as we’ve seen in the last month, create a surge in scams because they generate widespread hope for a life-changing windfall. Scammers use this hype to make their fake offers of a big prize seem more believable.
Scammers pressure you to act quickly before you have time to think or research the offer. By creating a sense of urgency, scammers will warn you that if you don’t respond now, you risk losing your prize. They’ll often impersonate famous people whom you know to have a lot of money. Many will reach out on social media.
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Rocky Rule is retired. He’s a grandfather and enjoys keeping up to date with his grandkids on Facebook. They keep him busy online, so he’s on his iPad frequently. Rule said a strange message came a few weeks ago out of the blue. He’d be getting free money.
“If $20,000 was delivered to your home address from FedEx, what would you use it for? Then it’s got a list. Bills, business, vacations, furniture. So I answered and said, ‘This has to be a gimmick. This is the fifth one I’ve had in seven days.’ Right here, she says, ‘This is a choice of FedEx to help all citizens. The money is from a World Humanitarian who helps people to be able to pay their bills,’” said Rule.
“Well, I just thought of it as crazy. How can FedEx and some humanitarian give away $20,000? I just don’t understand where the money is coming from. To me, it sounds like they’re trying to get your information to rip you off, like you see so much of this stuff going on,” said Rule. “I’ve gotten numerous [messages] under different names, I had eight, probably 10 last month.”
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One message said it’s coming from billionaire businessman Elon Musk…