AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Just like the rest of us in this uncertain economy, scammers are hurting, and they’ll say anything to stop the financial bleeding.

“He called me on my home phone,” said Betty, who only wants to go by her first name, and preferred not to show her face. “And said we’re Publisher’s Clearinghouse and want you to know that you won.”

She told us the caller, who said his name was Michael Matthews, knew some of her info like her address and phone number, but attempted to get more of her personal information with follow-up questions.

“Are you married? I said you should know that to just you know my name and address and my home phone number,” Betty responded tactfully.

After a while, she said the caller finally dropped the bomb on her.

“Before you could get your money is gonna cost you $2,900. I said, oh, would you repeat that?!,” she told KAMR.

But, before you do anything, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises you to pump the brakes.

“If you’ve been told that you want to sweepstakes, and they’re asking you for money, that is a scam,” said Janna Kiehl, President of Better Business Bureau Amarillo.

The potential for scammers is growing and will continue to do so, as we move further into the digital age.

“Anybody can get your basic information, online name, address, phone numbers, that’s all available, like it used to be in an old type of phonebook,” Kiehl explained.

When it comes to scams, age is nothing but a number.

“Younger people are targeted more often now than then senior citizens are older people know about scams, they’re aware of what to do next, and they’re very protective of their information. Whereas younger people are more likely to share information or, you know, to friend someone on social media that they may not know,” Kiehl noted.

Through it all, both Betty and the BBB have some advice.

“Be careful, also people, it’s best that don’t answer your phone,” Betty said.

For more information and ways to defend yourself against scams, click here.