A scam caller posing as a Better Business Bureau employee told a Middle Tennessee woman she had won $3.5 million and needed to buy a prepaid card to collect the prize.

The woman recognized the request as suspicious and hung up, the BBB serving Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky said in a warning issued Friday, Oct. 23. The bureau confirmed the call was fraudulent, according to Sumner County Source.

The caller identified himself as the "Executive Manager for the Tennessee BBB" and told the woman to buy a Green Dot card, Fox 17 reported the same day. Sumner County Source reported the caller directed her to a nearby convenience store to purchase the card. The phone number was linked to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, which makes callers difficult to trace.

She hung up.

Robyn Householder, president and CEO of the BBB serving Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky, said the bureau never contacts people to announce lottery winnings. "BBB does not call people to announce unexpected lottery winnings or require consumers to purchase prepaid cards to collect a prize," Householder said.

Once money is loaded onto a prepaid gift card and the number is shared, it is difficult to recover, the BBB said.

How to spot the scam

The BBB recommends three steps to protect yourself:

  • Never pay money to claim a prize.
  • Do not share gift card numbers or PINs with anyone over the phone.
  • Verify unexpected calls by looking up the organization's phone number on its official website.

The Federal Trade Commission warns that no real business or government agency will ever demand payment by gift card. Scammers often create urgency, telling targets to pay right away or face consequences, according to the FTC. They may also stay on the phone while the victim goes to a store to buy the card.

Anyone who has already shared card numbers should contact the card issuer immediately, the FTC advises. Suspicious calls can be reported through the BBB Scam Tracker or to the FTC. Anyone who receives an unexpected prize call should hang up and contact the organization directly using a number they find on their own.