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How To Avoid Lottery, Prize Scams: You Didn’t Enter, But You 'Won'?
A surprise message says you hit the jackpot, but there’s a catch: you must pay a fee or hand over personal details to claim it.
That’s the hallmark of a lottery or prize scam—designed to separate you from your money and identity.
These schemes often arrive by email, text, phone, or mail and lean on pressure tactics to force quick decisions.
Scammers frequently demand “taxes,” “processing,” or “shipping” upfront, or ask for sensitive data to “verify” you.
Legitimate lotteries do not require payment to release a prize, and you should never be asked for your Social Security…
Maryland ‘Clown’ Who Scammed 80-Year-Old Virginia Woman Out Of $26K Busted In Sting: Sheriff
An 80-year-old Virginia woman was conned out of more than $26,000 by crooks posing as US Treasury agents — until detectives set a trap that ended with a Maryland man in cuffs, officials said.
The suspect, James Smith, 30, of Gaithersburg, was arrested after showing up to grab another $10,000 in cash from the victim, the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies were waiting.
Smith had already squeezed $26,000 from the woman over several days, investigators said.
He and others pretended to be Treasury agents, threatening the woman with “criminal charges” unless she handed…
Con Man Claimed MLB Career While Scamming Women, Dodging Sex Offender Registry In DMV: DOJ
He said he was going pro in baseball — but what he really went pro in was lying, scamming, and disappearing from the sex offender registry, prosecutors in Virginia say.
Now, he's going to prison.
A Roanoke man who told women he was a Major League Baseball prospect, forged six-figure checks, used burner phones to impersonate team officials, and failed to register as a sex offender pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this year, federal officials announced.
Now, Janike Dunbar Holt — a man who goes by many names — has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.
Holt, 29 — also known as…
Sex Offender Faked MLB Career, Scammed Women In Big League Lie: Feds
He said he was going pro in baseball — but what he really went pro in was lying, scamming, and disappearing from the sex offender registry, prosecutors in Virginia say.
A Roanoke man who told women he was a Major League Baseball prospect, forged six-figure checks, used burner phones to impersonate team officials, and failed to register as a sex offender has pleaded guilty in federal court as part of an elaborate scheme, federal officials announced.
He went by many names while executing his scheme.
Janike Dunbar Holt, 29 — also known as “Nike,” “Janike Tagovailoa,” “Keanu Tagovailoa,” and “…
