There's a warning from the Better Business Bureau of Maryland about sweepstakes and lottery scams. They certainly aren't new, but one recent story shows just how ruthless these scammers can be.The BBB officials explained that a lot of these calls come from overseas and the scammers have become more savvy over the years. One man handed over tens of thousands of dollarsGorman Johnson in Anne Arundel County has a lot of evidence from his nightmare that started in November 2018. "A guy called me, said he was from American Cash Rewards and I was a third prize winner for $850,000," said Johnson. "I had never heard of it before. First time being contacted by anyone telling me I'd ever won anything!" As with a lot of these scams, the caller convinced Johnson that he had to make payments to secure his prize money, whether it be to cover taxes or legal fees. Over five months, he sent money orders, wired money and transferred gift card numbers.It's a scenario that the BBB of Maryland hears about often. "We see it as a consistent pattern. This is something that happens week after week," said Angie Barnett, president of BBB of Maryland. According to the BBB, over the past two years, 15% of the scam calls have been about sweepstakes and lottery scams, and 17 people have lost more than $26,000 over the past year."In this case, scams work because they win the trust of an individual. They have conversations," said Barnett.Johnson said that included daily calls building up trust in his case and prize delivery dates that kept falling through. He figured it all out after the scammers sent him two checks for about $12,000 and the checks bounced."I probably will never get that money back, but one thing that I hope happens is that they don't scam anybody else," said Johnson. "But you live and you learn. And the only way you can learn is by living, and I lived through this." It may seem like a simple red flag, but BBB officials say one rule of thumb is if you haven't entered any contest, it's unlikely that you've won any contest.11 News did ask about law enforcement and because these scammers are usually calling from overseas, they're almost impossible to catch.