‘Giveaway?’ No, rip-off: Bend lottery winner’s name used by online scammers

Several social media accounts are using her name, image to try to fool people

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Last August, Shelly Arnold of Bend had what most people only dream of: a $1 million winning Powerball ticket.

Unfortunately, there are now some other people trying to use her good luck to their own, criminal advantage. And it could be very bad luck for others.

Oregon Lottery spokesman Chuck Baumann confirmed Friday there are scammers using Shelley Arnold’s name on fake social media accounts, claiming they will donate money to their followers.

"They are just reaching out to folks to say, ‘Hey, I'm giving away money because I won lots of money, and I'd like to give it to you. I you give me this specific information, then I can share it with you,’” Baumann said.

The fake pages have made offers between $10,000 and $30,000. They may ask for your personal information, and claim they'll bring a check to your door.

Baumann advised that if you see these accounts, not to engage with them.

"Probably the thing to do is say, 'Now wait a second' -- take a little bit of a deep breath, and go, 'This is probably too good to be true, so it probably is,'" he said.

Oregon law requires every major jackpot winner's name to be public, allowing scammers to find her name and steal her images.

Arnold said she did not want to speak on camera, but that she told Baumann that she was completely unaware of these scams.

NewsChannel 21 also asked Baumann if he could confirm that these pages are not Arnold’s.

"They are not Shelly Arnold. I chatted with Shelly just a bit ago. She had no idea about it,” Baumann said.

“In fact., while we were on the phone, she said, 'Wait a second -- I've got these emails.' And she opens them up and, lo and behold, there ‘she’ is telling people ‘she’ is giving away money -- and she had no idea about it."

Baumann said it's not the first such scam, as a big winner in Salem ended up in similar rip-off efforts by others.

He said it's best to ignore these pages, but if you have questions or want to report them, you can always reach out to the Oregon Secretary of State's office.

Baumann emphasized that if someone online asks you for your address, credit card number, bank account number or any other personal information, it’s a clear red flag.

"Be wise about the information that you're sharing," he said. “You don't want to give out that personal identifiable information to anyone that you don't know so, just be safe."