Insider Buzz: Texas Seniors Targeted by Lottery ScamThe so called "foreign lottery" scam is again targeting senior citizens in Texas, and former Governor Ann Richards and First Mother and former First Lady Barbara Bush have joined forces to produce radio and TV commercials urging Texans to 'just hang up.'
The way the scam usually works is a senior will get an official sounding telephone call from somebody claiming that the senior has won a foreign lottery, usually the non existent 'Canadian Lottery.'
Dalton Bessette, a senior who lost $240,000 to the scammers, told 1200 WOAI news the callers are very engaging.
"I even became friends with the people on the phone," he said.
The caller claims that the prize, generally in excess of $10 million, will be handed over to the lucky winner in a ceremony at their home, just as soon as the senior sends in several thousand dollars, generally said to be either 'customs duties' or 'taxes' that are due on the winnings.
"They told me that three men would come visit me here in Texas and bring me the money." Bessette said.
The scammers often set up elaborate ruses, including 1-800 numbers the victim can call to get 'confirmation' that he is a winner. In all cases, the phone numbers is answered by somebody who is in on the scam.
They tell the gullible victims that it doesn't matter that they didn't enter the mysterious lottery, they say their name was picked at random, or picked because they were 'automatically entered' when they purchased a product or paid a bill.
Officials say calls like this are ALWAYS a scam. There is no lottery in the world that awards prizes to people who didn't enter, and, while taxes are due on all lottery winnings, they are subtracted from the prize, never required up front.
