With the holiday season being a time of giving, it appears that January is becoming the month of taking. Unfortunately a scam targeting the elderly has struck a Grass Valley resident. Grass Valley Police Sgt Joe Matteoni says that in December an elderly resident received notification in the mail that they had won just shy of 1,000,000 dollars in a lottery. The company sending the letters is named OZ Lotteries. The letter requested the victim contact the company by phone to verify the winnings.
Click here to listen to Sgt Joe Matteoni

The victim did not immediately tell her family about the incident so the scammers were able to collect the money. Matteoni says that investigators are working the case.
Click here to listen to Sgt Joe Matteoni

Sgt Matteoni strongly urges any resident that receives an unexpected notice of lottery winnings to contact law enforcement and do not send any sort of a payment. Once money is sent it is virtually impossible to retrieve.

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In another case of, if it seems to good to be true, it probably isn’t, scammers are taking advantage of people looking for affordable rental property in Nevada County. Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal says his office was contacted by a property owner that had listed a rental on a popular real estate web site, Zillow.
Click here to listen to Sheriff Keith Royal

Once the financial transaction takes place, the money is gone. Royal says the process defrauds the potential renter of their money and wreaks havoc with property owners.
Click here to listen to Sheriff Keith Royal

If you are a renter or property owner and experience this type of activity, contact law enforcement immediately.