Rite Aid Scam: Police Issue Warning About Phony Sweepstakes

Don’t get too excited if you get a phone call claiming that you’ve won money in a Rite Aid sweepstakes because there’s a good chance that it’s a scam.

Business Week reports that an elderly woman in West Kittanning, Pennsylvania recently received a call claiming that she had won $18,000 in a Ride Aid sweepstakes. The woman was told to buy a “Green Dot” card for $500 in order to pay the taxes on her winnings.

The woman contacted her son before buying the card and didn’t lose any money in the scam.

The “Green Dot” cards are pre-paid cards that can be used like debit cards. The Rite Aid scam attempts to trick people into buying the card and then giving out the serial number to the scammer. Once the scammer has the serial number, they can use the pre-paid card for themselves.

State trooper Joe Zandarski said that the phone call appeared to come from Jamaica. No one has been arrested for the scam yet.

Zandarski said that Rite Aid was aware of the scam and was warning customers about the phony phone calls.