The Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank is cautioning residents about a telephone scam operating under the guise of a sweepstakes operation.
Bank investment director Edouard Begin said that a customer was targeted in the scam Monday morning. The woman, he said, received multiple phone calls in a three-hour period. The scammer placing the call identified herself as Deborah Holland. She told the woman that she had won $850,000 and a 2015 white Mercedes-Benz with red and white leather interior. In order to claim the prize, she was told to send $4,800 cash wrapped in newspaper and by overnight delivery express to a man named Kevin Brown in Rochelle, N.Y.
The woman was told to keep the information to herself. The scammer also asked the target if she was elderly.
The bank contacted the West Tisbury Police about the scam. “Luckily we were able to interject and stop the money transfer from occurring,” Mr. Begin said.
