 SCAM Warning from Martinsville Police
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The Martinsville Police Department would like to warn residents of a new scam being propagated in the Martinsville-Henry County area.
A resident of Martinsville recently reported receiving a call from a male individual who identified himself as “Rhoads” and gave an 877 number. The individual said he was from Miami, Florida and claimed to be a government official. Then “Rhoads” told the Martinsville resident he needed to pay a $2,500.00 tax on a package that came into the United States from a foreign country. “Rhoads claimed that the package contained $2,500,000.00 from a bank in the country of Costa Rica; which he further claimed was money that the complainant had won from entering a sweepstakes two years ago.
At this time the Martinsville resident advised “Rhoads” that he was not going to send any form of payment. “Rhoads” then said, “Well if you don’t pay the money I’m sending it back today.”
A short time later the Martinsville resident received another call from a female who identified herself as “Santos” and stated that she worked at a bank in Costa Rica. “Santos” proceeded to tell the Martinsville resident that the male individual “Rhoads” who had contacted him earlier is a legitimate government official. “Santos” then stated that she would pay half of the $2,500.00 tax if the complainant would pay the other half. “Santos” further stated that if he would agree to this arrangement, the resident from Martinsville would receive the prize money today.
|