By Diane Lee (WSPA)

We’re hearing from you about scam calls that are tricking people out of hundreds of dollars. The caller says you’ve been awarded a grant and tries to get you to pay a fee. One Spartanburg woman sent money and is helping us warn you.

Marlana Collins still has the evidence in her phone and on paper of a caller that tricked her out of $260 dollars, a scam that could have been worse.

“He came back to the phone and he was like, OK you’d paid the 260, but here’s the fee, you have to pay $700 more for taxes, and I’m like huh? $700 and I just gave you 260?” said Collins.

Let’s rewind.

It all started when she got a call from someone saying they were with the government telling her she won a grant.

“I said, OK cool, I said well why did I win? He said you’ve never had a criminal record, you pay your bills on time amongst other things. So I’m thinking OK, maybe this is legit because he said he’s from an agency,” she said.

The caller kept her on the line, while he directed her to a local store to wire a “fee” that would supposedly give her access to the grant money.

We asked her: “When they asked you to pay up, was there any red flag that went up?

She said “No… And yes.”

“No because, like I said, I thought it was a legit thing, they said they were from the US government”

“And then yes, because I’m thinking OK if I had been awarded something, why should I have to pay.”

It wasn’t until they asked her for more that she knew she had been scammed.

Collins says she went to the Spartanburg Police Department to file a report, but they couldn’t help her. That’s because when you wire money oversees, it’s virtually untraceable, which is why it’s so important to get the word out about this scam.

“I didn’t listen to my instinct, I did not,” she said.

If she can be that voice in your head, Collins says it’s worth sharing her story.

HOW TO SPOT THE SCAM:

– Be extra cautious when anyone tells you to wire money. It’s virtually untraceable.

– The government will not call you to say you’ve won a grant out of the blue. You have to apply.

– You never have to pay money “up front” to win a grant or the lottery.

Here’s a link to a legitimate grant application site. You do not have to pay to apply for a grant.