The telephone call came from out of the blue. The man on the line told the 83-year-old retired schoolteacher she had won a substantial lottery prize. All that was required to claim the windfall was to pay taxes and other fees.
Before it was over, the victim — a Virginia resident who had meticulously saved for her retirement — was out more than $500,000 in a scam that has become all too familiar among the elderly.
The criminals behind these lottery frauds and other telemarketing scams prey on senior citizens for a variety of reasons, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent John Gardner, who investigated the woman's case out of the FBI's Washington Field Office and eventually helped put the Jamaican man who victimized her behind bars.
"The first thing to know is that lottery scammers have no empathy for the elderly," Gardner said. "For them, it's all about the money." Seniors can be lured into the scam because they have financial difficulties, or they might have enough for themselves but want to leave a legacy for their children. Some may be suffering from mental decline or dementia. "Others are so lonely, they just want someone to talk to," Gardner explained. "Some scammers become 'best friends' with their victims."
There is also the issue of technology. The criminals — many who carry out their crimes from Jamaica — use Internet tools to mask their calls so they appear to be coming from U.S. numbers with particular area codes, such as Las Vegas.
"Elderly people grew up at a time when people weren't defrauding people over the phone," Gardner said. "They are not aware of these Internet masking technologies and are generally not suspicious when the telephone rings."
The fraudsters are as persuasive as they are sophisticated. "The Jamaican lottery scammers are like an organized cyber crime group," Gardner said. "They are closely knit, highly structured, and have U.S. associates — money mules — who help launder their money."
The scammers who make the calls speak excellent English and use well-practiced scripts complete with rebuttals. They are experienced and extremely manipulative. To target victims of a certain age, they buy lead lists that are widely available online.
Gardner received the Virginia woman's complaint in 2011. The ensuing investigation eventually resulted in the identification of seven subjects, all of whom were charged in connection with the lottery scheme. Six of those individuals have been convicted, and one is a fugitive. The ringleader, Paul Laing, 31, of Sandy Bay, Jamaica, was sentenced last month to 10 years in prison for his leadership role in the scheme.
Laing pled guilty in October 2015, admitting that he defrauded numerous elderly victims, including the woman from Virginia who lost her life savings. Laing instructed victims to send funds through wire transfers, the U.S. mail, and other means directly to him in Jamaica or to co-conspirators in the U.S. Those co-conspirators — the money mules — kept a portion of the proceeds and transferred the rest to Laing. The illicit funds ran to hundreds of thousands of dollars from more than 23 known victims, Gardner said, adding that there were likely many more victims who never came forward.
Don't Fall Victim to Lottery Scams
The Federal Trade Commission — the nation's consumer protection agency — offers the following advice to avoid falling victim to lottery scams and other telemarketing frauds:
- Don't pay money to collect supposed lottery or sweepstakes winnings. If you have to pay to collect, you are not winning, you are buying. Legitimate sweepstakes don't require you to pay insurance, taxes, or shipping and handling fees to collect your prize.
- Scammers pressure people to wire money through commercial money transfer companies because wiring money is the same as sending cash. When the money's been sent, there's very little chance of recovery. Likewise, resist any push to send a check or money order by overnight delivery or courier. Con artists recommend these services so they can get their hands on your money before you realize you've been cheated.
- Remember that phone numbers can deceive. Internet technology allows scammers to disguise their area code so it looks like they're calling from your local area, but they could be calling from anywhere in the world.
This is similar to Nigerian 419 scam. Even if you played lotto, ur the one who has to contact the lotto agency or whomever u bought the ticket from after u win. These scammers tend to target the elderly a lot, and I thought wisdom grows when people age. Common sense should prevail in such cases. I'm seen my share of scammers here on LP too. Caveat emptor!
Seems like these victims are always meticulous savers, never hear of this happening to a spendthrift.
I get scammers from P.C.House all the time ..They tell me i won and I need to send money somewhere to get my big check..There is a Dave ,Todd and Danielle..They tend to use the name Danielle a lot more ..I just play dump with them.It's fun to play with them ..SORRY ..YEA .I KNOW ..I'M GOING TO HELL ..
Anxiously awaiting my lottery scam phone call. Will play along to the max and even ask where to wire the money to. then they'll call in a few days (I would imagine) and say they did not receive the money. Then I'll give them a fake name of the person that received the money.
Deduct the Fees and Taxes from my Winnings and Send me the rest!
Thanks to Todd & the FBI for the heads up.
The more info the better for the elderly.
Preying on the elderly is almost like prostitution in a way. It comes in different forms, shapes and sizes. It is age old and the low hanging fruit and it will never go away. These con artists know that the elderly are very trusting and vulnerable.
It's funny how the Nigerian scam is usually prevalent in Jamaica, Texas/Georgia and the Soviet Union. Picture somebody from Russia trying to talk like a "Nigerian". I think some of those good Nigerians are getting a bad rap.
419eater dot com is one of the funniest pages on internet, the site documents how scammers got scamed themselves. "The road to Skeleton Coast" is pure entertainmen. Note that gpshoaxlinks not works anymore. The site is quite old.
If you have any elderly relatives please check on them to make sure they are not being scammed.
The best advice yet, a good defense is a strong offense. Sit down with your love ones and advise them of this crap going on. The more they know up front will keep them from being a victim of these kind of scams.
You don't have to be elderly to fall into one of these scams. A friend receive a very notice that she had win some prize in the Irish lottery. She was all excited, she show us the letter she made the call. She just gotten back from a over sea job assignment. She put the call on speaker so we could all hear what they had to said. Of course it finish came around to the amount of money she need to wire them to claim her prize from alleged jackpot. We ask her [3] questions. {1} Do you remember purchasing any tickets at any time while you were their. {NO] [2] Did you keep any one permission to use your name + information as a contact person. {NO} #{3} Did you fill out or do any surveys, what they can say you were randomly selected as the winners. She had take a quick survey. We told her, when they call back tell them to take out the winning. She did it.
My neighbors elderly mother was scammed by phone a few years ago. Don't know by whom, but all of her social security money was taken out of her bank account, I mean everything, and she had no money for food. She was so embarrassed and sick with worry after she discovered that she was fooled, that she told no one, not even her own daughter. My neighbor found her mother unresponsive and rushed her to the hospital. That's when she found out the story of why her mother wasn't getting enough nourishment.
Remember back in the old West, when someone stole a horse they hung the horse-thief? Taking the food out of elderly people's mouths (their money) is as bad as stealing their horse and leaving them to die in the desert in my humble opinion.
If they are getting a lot of sweepstakes letters in the mail it is definitely a red flag. Chances are they answered one or more of them and sent a check. Once that happens their name is put on mailing lists. And they will be swamped with them.
Another thing to watch out for are magazine subscription offers that have a sweepstakes entry with them. It's the same thing. Subcsribe to one and you get swamped with magazines.
Be aware that a lot of magazine subscription services are ripoffs. They are basically a middleman between you and the magazine. They may charge $89 for a 2 year subscription, but if you deal with the magazine directly the subscription is maybe $45 for 2 years. Watch out for the high pressure sales pitch, usually 48 or 60 months for XXX amount of $$. Then after 12 months the renewal post cards start coming. And you're thinking, I thought it was for 60 months. It was. 12 months for the first magazine, 12 months for the second, etc.
Also, a lot of them use what they call "automatic renewals." Basically, they keep renewing your subscription untill YOU tell them to cancel. Problem is, often times you have to go to a website to do it, and a lot of elderly do not have computers, or internet service. Writing "Please Cancel," on the renewal form doesn't always work either. They will cancel that magazine and just send them another.
So bottom line, keep an eye on your elderly relatives. Stay involved and stay diligent so they don't get unknowingly ripped off.