MICHIGAN CITY — Tina Dunlap has dreamed her entire life of winning the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, but it turns out what she thought was a winning entry has only brought her heartache.

"It started off, this is the first letter I got," said Dunlap, pointing to a piece of paper that appears to be part of the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. "Over the years, I kept sending things in."

Then last month, Dunlap received word she had won and called a number on her entry.

"He's giving me this FedEx number and telling me to send $400 to Western Union to this guy at this address in the West Indies."

Dunlap and her friend Odella's red flag radar went up. Odella Marsh said her friend was fixated on the contest and would later discover Tina had sent thousands of dollars over time to scammers.

"It was like each time we couldn't break the cycle," said Marsh.

In this last instance, Dunlap wired a man $100.

Sgt. Dominic Zultanski with South Bend Police says it doesn't matter if you live in Michigan City or South Bend, scams like this have hit a steady peak.

"They wouldn't do it if it didn't work," said Zultanski.

Zultanski says these guys prey on the vulnerable, especially if they contact them first.

"Every time you call back they put a check in the box and the more checks the more of a victim you are going to be."

He urges people to keep on eye on the elderly and more vulnerable to prevent them from being scammed and his advice remains the same when it comes to wiring anyone money.

"Anytime you're into any process with someone you don't know and they ask you to wire money and especially money above and beyond the sales price, it's always a fraudulent activity."

As for Tina Dunlap, she has some advice of her own.

"Don't be a fool like me."