2 Sweepstakes Scams Reported in Strongsville

A scam in which residents are told they've won a $2.5 million sweepstakes was reported twice here in the last four days.

In one case, a couple lost $380 before getting suspicious and reporting the call to police.

That couple is now being harassed by the con artist, who is threatening to come to his house to get more money.

"We get these (reports) all the time," Detective Lt. John Janowski said. "People still fall for it."

In the first incident, residents on Ashwood Drive called police Feb. 6 to say they had received a call from a man who said they had won a $2.5 million sweepstakes. 

The caller instructed them to go to go to and buy three Money Paks -- a type of pre-paid credit card -- for $380, $500 and $1,500.

They did. When the man called back, they gave him the number for the $380 card. They then got suspicious and called police before giving him the others.

A few days later, they received threatening phone calls from someone saying he would be coming to their house to collect the rest of the money.

On Friday morning, police were called to Steven-David Drive to handle a domestic dispute, and learned when they arrived the argument was sparked by the same scam.

A husband and wife started fighting after the man gave personal information over the phone to a man who said they had won the $2.5 million sweepstakes in Jamaica.

Janowski said the caller's phone number was the same one used in the Ashwood Drive scam.

The Steven-David Drive couple were able to cancel their cards and did not lose any money.