I just learned of a scam that ruined a guy. He is a friend of a friend, and she told me that he lost all his money to this scam, and when he realized what had happened, he just lost the will to live. He passed a way a few months ago. I don't know how much money he lost, but I believe it was a significant amount.
The scam was that he had won $28 million dollars. Before he could receive the money, he had to pay the tax to the IRS. He thought it was a scam, but after contacting the IRS, and verifying that the $28 million dollars was legitimate, he paid the tax money. When the money never arrived, he figured out that the IRS office that he had called was part of the scam. I don't know how they did that, or any other details. I just learned about it last week when my friend listed his house and mentioned that he had passed away and she was handling his estate. The house is listed for $2 million.