A spokesman for the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Department says a new email scam is being reported.

The scam features an email, supposedly from Western Union, telling people they are being given $1.5 million from a supposed "poverty alleviation program." Victims are told they will be paid in daily installments of $7,600 through Western Union.

But Sweetwater County Sheriff Mike Lowell says the emails are part of a typical "advance payment' scam. The email includes a ''24 hour help line'' phone number.

Those who call the number are told they must make an ''advance payment" (usually of between $7,000 and $8,000) to cover taxes, processing, filing fees and other supposed costs. But once the victim sends the ''advance payment,'' the scammers are never heard from again. Sometimes the cybercriminals make matters even worse by collecting personal and financial information, such as bank account or credit card numbers, from their victims,  allowing them to steal even more money.

You can see a copy of the scam email below.

Lowell says anyone receiving the email should simply delete it, rather than opening any attachments or responding to it in any way.

Western Union Scam Graphic
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