For just a few minutes, Joanna Hagen of Sallisaw became a millionaire. So she thought.

In her mind, she was thinking about all the finer things she could purchase for her and her family.

However, the telephone call she answered Tuesday morning from a person identifying himself as a representative for Publishers Clearing House was just a scam artist, Hagen learned.

“He sounded very convincing. He told me I was the winner of $8.5 million from Publishers Clearing House, but I would only receive $6.5 million after taxes,” Hagen said. In addition, the caller said Hagen would receive a brand new BMW SUV and a $50 cashiers check.

“It all sounded legit up until he asked me to send him a gift card for $300 verifying my trust in him. I began asking him questions, and asked if I could call my daughter first to see if sending him $300 is something I should do, and he hung up,” Hagen said.

Hagen said from that point on, she thought it would be best to go to the police and report the man who identified himself as Tom Tucker with Publishers Clearing House.

“The police said they receive reports such as this all the time. They thought it might be a good idea to just let people know and be aware of any similar phone calls they might receive,” she said.

“So that’s what I’m doing, is just letting people know about scam calls from Publishers Clearing House.”

Hagen said one of the first thoughts she had if she had actually won the money was to give some to her church and her granddaughters so they would not have to struggle financially as she did when she first came to the United States from Germany.

“It’s OK, though. I’m living in one of the best countries in the world. This is truly the land of the free. When people have lived under communism, they don’t take the good things this country offers for granted,” she said.