Same old lottery scam that people keep falling for
Melissa A. Garcia, a financially strapped single mother, rejoiced last month when she received a letter proclaiming she had won $65,000 in the Horizon Empire Sweepstakes.
The letter even came with a legitimate-looking business check for $2,450.80. The money, the letter stated, was supposed to cover "taxes and clearance fees" so Garcia could claim her prize.
"I thought it was my way out of all the things I've been through," said Garcia, 28, a mother of a 3-year-old daughter who works as a debt collector and lives with her uncle in Belmar, Monmouth County.
But the letter's promised deliverance never came.
Garcia narrowly averted losing $2,300 in a mail scam officials say has targeted at least 800 local residents, most of them senior citizens in Ocean County. In at least three cases in the past two years, residents lost a total of $123,000.
One man was defrauded of $80,000, said Cindy E. Boyd, a senior investigator who heads the Senior Scam Task Force for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. In two other cases, a mother and son lost $27,000, and a senior woman lost $16,000.
Boyd and other officials say the scam works like this: A letter arrives in the mail announcing the recipient has won a lottery or sweepstakes. The phony lottery appears under many names, such as the Spanish Lottery, the International Lottery or the Switzerland Lottery.
Enclosed is a check, usually for $2,000 to $10,000, and directs the winner to call a phone number. The recipient is then instructed to deposit the check in his or her bank account. After the check is deposited, the supposed lottery winner is told to transfer, by wire, about the same amount of money back to the lottery, to pay for taxes or fees.
However, the lottery's check to the winner bounces within days because it is drawn on a phony or closed bank account. However, the victim has lost real money, the thousands of dollars sent to the scammers via a wire or money order service.
The phone numbers the victim calls are typically linked to cell phones in Canada, Boyd said.
Thankssssssssssss
......"NJ">>>>>!
I should probably stop posting when I see a news article like this, because I sound mean and I'm not. The people who scam others to steal their money are terrible human beings and should be punished severely. Too bad a lot of them aren't caught. I really feel awful when I hear that people are scammed. In fact, one reason I've had trouble at a few jobs is because I won't take advantage of anyone or lie. However, the people in these articles really have to be stupid!!
Sorry, just the way I see it. I got a call a couple of months ago telling me I won a Cadillac Escalade and I told the guy I never entered any such contest. He then asked me if I've been on web sites like XXX.com (can't remember the name) and I said "maybe, but I'd never give out my home phone number." Who knows? Maybe I lost a brand new SUV!
I do dumb things and I have blonde moments and senior moments at the same time, which is really bad! LOL However, I would never send someone money if he told me I won a lottery or any other contest. It makes no sense whatsoever. Also, don't these people read the news?
There is a special place in Hell for people that take advantage of others like these scammers...
On working with the elders during my younger years, it amazes me that any of them can read the print on these scamms(the print is soo small!). Rarely can I even read it and my eyesight isnt so shabby. its my reading skills sometimes that I worry about. Pronunciation never was my forte. Anywhos, it behooves us as the younger generation to aide our elders when they do receive letters of this nature. We have a right to speak to them and bring awareness to the overall public. This doesnt mean we go thru their personal mail but rather to speak with them in a general nature about this prevailing epidemic that crops up in certain states.
There are many groups in FL that advise seniors about these scams. I agree we need to spread the word. I tell my neighbors all the time about these scams. Unfortunately, it also hurts honest people who want to help others. It makes people suspicious. I'm even a little uncomfortable giving out personal information. 2 days ago I got a call "Hi, this is Comcast Cable to install your ....." Well I am a Comcast customer, but I don't have whatever he was installing (something for High Definition TV) and he asked is this (239) XXX-XXXX and it was my number. Then he asked for my address so I answered "What address does your work order have?" He was calling me from his cell phone I think. So I went to my computer and typed in the address. He was the real deal, but some numbers on the work order were transposed. Times have sure changed since I was a kid!
How does someone pull a scam on a debt collector? Maybe it was for all the people struggling to make ends meet that can't sit down to a quiet dinner with their family without the phone ringing sometimes with spoofed Caller ID 8 times a day and the person calling (not necessarily this person) having a real attitude. I agree that someone has to be real stupid or living under a rock for the last 50 years to fall for something like that. And yes, better safe than sorry. I always get verification on anything I'm not sure about.