ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — An Albany family is speaking out, saying their 81-year-old loved one lost more than $10,000 in jewelry in a lottery and sweepstakes scam.

The victim’s daughter and city of Albany Ward 5 commissioner, Colette Jenkins, said scammers contacted her mother by phone more than a month ago, claiming she had won $8.5 million and a 2026 Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon through a Mega Millions sweepstakes.

Jenkins spoke out after the Albany Police Department (APD) recently warned residents about the scheme, Thursday, Aug. 6.

“‘I have to tell you a secret. You cannot tell anyone. I am a millionaire now,’” Jenkins said her mother told her.

Her mother had not played the lottery, but Jenkins said scammers could have possibly linked the supposed win to Publishers Sweepstakes, which her mother had participated in years ago, to make the claim seem credible.

Jenkins said her mother and the fraudsters primarily communicated through WhatsApp calls and text messages—a method the commissioner said made it difficult to trace when she found out.

Over the course of the scam, the fraudsters sent Roberts documents through WhatsApp featuring fake IRS letterhead, Mega Millions logos and Publishers Clearing House branding.

WALB obtained the fake documents, which demanded a $7,000 “processing fee” before her winnings could be released.

Commissioner Jenkins said scammers also persuaded her mother to purchase an Amazon gift card and photograph the gift card numbers, and to mail them her jewelry, which she said is valued at more than $10,000. When she later confronted the scammers and asked them to return the jewelry, they denied ever receiving it.

“They told her, ‘No, no, they just don’t want you to get this money,’” Jenkins said, recalling what the scammers told her mother when police arrived. “If you let them in, they can do this to you.”

Jenkins said the scammers instructed her mother to keep the winnings secret, warning that people could harm her if they found out she had money. She avoided friends and changed her daily routine to protect the secret.

“[My mom] had begun to avoid them coming to her home,” she said of her mother’s friends. “She couldn’t have the same normal living every day.”

Jenkins said she finally called APD and the county police chief after learning about the scam.

“I was angry, but I knew that I had to keep her calm and then keep her trust in me,” Jenkins said. “I was so hurt that my mom had been holding this—supposedly ‘secret’—and been talking to these thieves for over a month and trusting them as people that she could trust.”

The family is now alerting their banks and working to block the multiple phone numbers the scammers used.

The family said they believe scammers may have found their mother through a social media post celebrating her 81st birthday. Her phone number is listed in her son’s name, making it unclear how scammers obtained her contact information.

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On Wednesday, APD issued a public warning urging residents to be on the lookout for lottery and sweepstakes scams. Police reminded the public that legitimate prizes never require upfront payment.

“If you get a call saying you’ve won the lottery, you did not win the lottery,” Jenkins said.

Anyone who believes they have been targeted is urged to contact the APD at 229-431-2100.

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