Baltimore man, 81, loses his home after falling for lottery scam

Comment #95

helpmewin — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:50:23 GMT

Your welcome

Comment #94

mcginnin56 — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:07:54 GMT

Thank you

Comment #93

helpmewin — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 22:09:23 GMT

whatever makes you happy

Comment #92

mcginnin56 — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:02:56 GMT

I was thinking more like the CSA of the century.

Comment #91

helpmewin — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 05:18:41 GMT

It's official you must now be named CSA ( Certified Senior Advisor) of the year

Comment #90

mcginnin56 — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 04:51:15 GMT

Simply ban senior citizens from answering the phone or responding to mail solicitations, problem solved.

Comment #89

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:29:04 GMT

Comment #88

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:24:40 GMT

Comment #87

helpmewin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:18:55 GMT

Comment #86

helpmewin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:18:25 GMT

Comment #85

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:18:24 GMT

You may also want to buy a lottery ticket someday

Comment #84

helpmewin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:14:02 GMT

i did that Camera their in the Picture folder just cant get them out to me. lets change the subject it's upsetting for me i will figure it out someday

Comment #83

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:13:02 GMT

lol........... I can do BETTER...........

Comment #82

helpmewin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:11:02 GMT

WOW! Thats BIG

Comment #81

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:09:53 GMT

Comment #80

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:09:02 GMT

Camera is BETTER. Photo tic, put on computer, upload to Picaca https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos copy image, paste to post......... Easy.

Comment #79

helpmewin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:03:23 GMT

you will know soon enough when i post my tickets: well first i have to figure out this scanner it has a mind of its own the most expensive FAX: SCANNER: COPIER: PRINTER: is not always better

Comment #78

mcginnin56 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:02:58 GMT

If it weren't for the Pope, we would never of had the Pope-mobile.....duhhhh.

Comment #77

helpmewin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:59:16 GMT

what does this pope do anyway why do we need him

Comment #76

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:58:33 GMT

I will share with you if you share with me

Comment #75

helpmewin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:57:13 GMT

go for it ronnie, you might help the old guy out if he read this and see's your numbers

God Bless you

Comment #74

mcginnin56 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:57:02 GMT

The average age of a Pope is 81, does this mean he will become the next victim of a lottery scam.

Comment #73

helpmewin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:54:47 GMT

yeah i can see them just fine it's the other that's the PROBLEM

but i'm not going to worry about it, i think i am on to something BIG

Comment #72

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:54:32 GMT

Not today............. Sorry Charle.

Comment #71

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:53:47 GMT

Ima post my photos.......................

Comment #70

mcginnin56 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:53:30 GMT

But is there a Pope.

Comment #69

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:51:59 GMT

So in essence it answers the question that, THERE IS A GOD...............

Comment #68

mcginnin56 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:48:26 GMT

Prune juice has also been shown to cure many types of cancer, improve memory, boost your I.Q. and grow back severed limbs.

Comment #67

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:46:47 GMT

Do you get your photos posted

Comment #66

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:46:07 GMT

They don't call me the prune juice stud for nothing you know

Comment #65

helpmewin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:44:33 GMT

Comment #64

helpmewin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:43:24 GMT

you would know

Comment #63

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:42:44 GMT

I have heard that prune juice will cover BOTH of those needs.

Comment #62

mcginnin56 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:36:23 GMT

Today's 81 is the new 51.

Maybe all he really needs is some Geritol and Viagra.

Comment #61

Ronnie316 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:23:59 GMT

At 81 his mind could be failing him.

Comment #60

ZANBAB1 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:15:39 GMT

at 81 this man did not learn to much.about life of the crimminal

Comment #59

boxofrox — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 04:28:41 GMT

Comment #58

HaveABall — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 07:06:04 GMT

Once one notices that their ticket has won the jackpot, they would quickly seek out a few Tax Attorneys for free consultations. If a few of these tax attorneys have no interest in a big jackpot winner's fine topics and questions, there are a few others who will do it for free ... and even enjoy the opportunity to discuss tax law during the free consultations/brainstorming hour.

Besides, it's the ultimate conversation, idea mongering. Most intelligent, creative, dreams sharing tax attorneys w... [ More ]

Comment #57

JoeCanWin — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 03:11:57 GMT

Call me crazy but If I win a JP I will keep on playing, not sure why but I think I will. I have no kids, no wife/ex-wife, not even a girlfriend now. So, the money is about 60% all mine (Uncle Sam wants his share). I'm tempted to build a huge mansion, but then the property taxes would be... ouch! I thought about paying lawyers and accountants too, but they might want a big bite. Will they want more than they are worth? I wish someone actually knew this stuff. I figure, tell only the ones I have t... [ More ]

Comment #56

RedStang — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 02:19:56 GMT

Right. They said i won a case of Red Stripe but had to send $500 for shipping.

Comment #55

dpoly1 — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 20:50:09 GMT

Like most people, I need extra money, but I don't take from others.

This is sad.

Comment #54

megan81 — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:23:17 GMT

HaveABall---

WOW! Thank you!!! Nice Philosophy!!! I appreciate you taking the time to explain this to me in detail

Comment #53

megan81 — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:19:19 GMT

Stay focused on school (I'm in school, too--graduate school)!!! I hope your major is in finances, especially if you're planning on winning the MM or PB lottery jackpots

Comment #52

haymaker — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:58:16 GMT

Check out 800notes.com

you can enter the phone # and see if others are getting the same call.

Comment #51

Tenaj — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:39:56 GMT

It's said that you won't get scammed if you didn't expect to get something for nothing, but there are elderly people who are just lonely and want to talk to anyone or have someone to pay attention to them.

Comment #50

RJOh — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:13:04 GMT

We have to be equally careful of family, friends and neighbors who come out with hair brain schemes to scam us of our money too.

I'm always surprised when the people we have no reason to think are crooks are crooks and think we are as dumb as rocks because we've saved some money and they haven't and they want to spend it.

Comment #49

mjoyg1123 — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:11:38 GMT

The nerve of some people to bother the elderly and take advantage of them!

Karma WILL get these scammers and when it happens it aint gonna be pretty,

thats for sure

Comment #48

Ronnie316 — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:24:06 GMT

And remember that scammers can promise many different things, base on a persons needs. I have received many phone calls of promise over the years in exchange for cash. Never sent cash though.

Comment #47

jamella724 — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:27:54 GMT

We need to be careful to avoid scammers! We have to keep in mind that if we didn't bet lottery in such area, there's no reason for us to win. So, we shouldn't be sending money just to claim the prize.

Comment #46

HaveABall — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:27:46 GMT

You're welcome, megan81. Per your request, I'll attempt to expand, philosophically on the two different ideas in the paragraph above, below:

If one prefers that they become the type of person who doesn't need to spend more than $5M over the remainder of their life, they (like me), might do the following upon winning the jackpot of either the MM or PB. Create a notebook that indicates which 18+ year-old people you would like to share your jackpot win -- making them the co-winner name appearing... [ More ]

Comment #45

JoeCanWin — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 05:08:27 GMT

Hi Artist77,

I agree, some people are desperate, this guy is poorer now, but he did lose his wife. So, he may not grab the line again. He has lost his main incentive. Of course, I could be wrong...

Thanks, and nice to meet you also.

Sincerely,

Joe

Comment #44

JoeCanWin — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 05:00:32 GMT

Hi Sully

Nice to meet you. From your telemarketer comment how you said you were not the wife . At least you shut them up fast. Of course if they think they are losing you they do need to think of what to say next. I have to ask, did you claiming to not be the wife end it? Or did they try anyways?

I probably being a bit nosey ...

Bye now,

Joe

Comment #43

JoeCanWin — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 04:55:10 GMT

Hi Megan,

Very nice to meet you Megan :)

Thanks for some advice also. If I'm correct I'll need it by summer. I'll explain more about why later in a post. I like MM and Powerball, but haven't won more than $50 from any one ticket at any one time in all the years I have been playing. Oh, I forgot to tell HaveABall (so I'll tell you) I have been playing the same numbers since 1996 for Megamillions. Also, I've been playing the same number for Powerball since 1997. I have NOT missed a drawing... [ More ]

Comment #42

JoeCanWin — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 04:45:25 GMT

To HaveABall,

Nice to meet You :)

--and--

Wow, thanks so much for all of your advice. I read it all and you have some points of interest that I never thought of and I have done some reasearch online. (So, that is my complement to you). I have been playing MM since September 1996 and played 3 numbers (rows) until a few years ago, then added the number I played for Powerball to that list. So now I play 4 rows twice a week. ($8 weekly). I haven't won more than $10 from any one ticket yet... [ More ]

Comment #41

sully16 — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 04:41:09 GMT

I once told a tela marketer, that I wasn't the wife, I was the girlfriend, lol, silence followed

Comment #40

sully16 — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 04:39:13 GMT

Yep, that sounds about right.

Comment #39

Piaceri — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 03:30:22 GMT

That, combined with old age issues, and desparation regarding a loved one, in this case, his wife. I feel sad for him. At least he has turned this around and is using it to teach others about the scammers. God bless him.

Comment #38

RJOh — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 02:56:37 GMT

I don't have caller ID but I enjoy telling these scammers off, it keep me in practice for dealing the local ones.

Comment #37

megan81 — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 02:48:36 GMT

Such a sad story! It's a good thing though that he is doing something proactive with his misfortunes.

On another note...

Welcome, JoeCanWin!

HaveABall, great advice! Thanks! Can you expand on this:

Decide at which, net, millions dollar amount rollovers how many 18+ year-old people you'd care to add their name on your claim form, as either equal % or lesser % co-winners [never a good idea to flood them with monies after you've been paid by lottery headquarters -- when projecting futu... [ More ]

Comment #36

rdgrnr — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 02:35:15 GMT

I'm down with that.

Comment #35

PrisonerSix — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 02:19:58 GMT

I'm the same way now. If I see a number I don't recognize, I either reject the call or just let it ring until voicemail picks up. I've been getting a lot of calls from Cardholder Services and other such scammers. They seem to hop from number to number and area code to area code. Sometimes I get several of them a day. If you answer once, they never leave you alone.

Comment #34

HaveABall — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 01:00:29 GMT

It is good to read that Norman now lives in Nottingham with a family friend. It is essential not to be homeless, at any age. I hope that their household is utilizing voicemails/digital answering machines to their maximum features

Comment #33

rdgrnr — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:51:01 GMT

Well of course.

The ACLU would probably step in and defend their right to send money to scammers.

And the scammers right to conduct business as they see fit.

Whatever's craziest.

Comment #32

Ronnie316 — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:50:35 GMT

Welcome to LP Bleedblue21

Comment #31

HaveABall — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:32:52 GMT

Congratulations on joining, JoeCanWin. We members have a lot to write, some is accurate and some hasn't been triple checked for accuracy before being typed.

The main ideas, for someone newly committed to playing the two largest, multi-state on-line lottery games here in the good 'ole U. S. of A. are:

- Don't spend more than $45/month to participate in 1 row, for every drawing;

- Allow two weeks to pass before submitting your claim form with your winning lottery jackpot ticket, allow up... [ More ]

Comment #30

rdgrnr — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:49:57 GMT

You mean gubmint

Comment #29

Artist77 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:45:55 GMT

Comment #28

Artist77 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:43:32 GMT

But he was scammed time and time again. I feel very sorry for him but I think if someone called him and said this was NOT a scam, he would fall for it again.

Comment #27

Artist77 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:39:58 GMT

Dateline did a thing on internet scams and there was this guy who thought he was talking to his young and beautiful future wife and then she conned him out of a lot of money. I think he was doing this behind his wifes back too. There is some brain deficiency for people who believe these obvious scams and they are not all old people. I had a neighbor (years ago) who was a security guard and so was his wife (he was in his late 50's) and one time I was having dinnner at their home and he kept getti... [ More ]

Comment #26

GAMBLIN QUEEN — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:52:22 GMT

People.....

Talk to your relatives.

Talk to your relatives.

The best way to prevent this is to talk to your relatives and have the relatives talk to their friends.

It is up to us to put the word out.

Be like a person with a wallet full of baby pictures that everyone is trying to avoid.

Talk to your co-workers.

Talk to the grocery store clerks.

Talk to the people at the laundry mat.

Spread the word each and every opportunity you have.

I talk to people all the time an... [ More ]

Comment #25

RJOh — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:56:14 GMT

If the government stepped in and stopped these people sending money to these scammers, someone would complain about one of their rights being taken away.

Comment #24

Ronnie316 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:43:49 GMT

Welcome to LP JoeCanWin.

Comment #23

noise-gate — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:42:11 GMT

Agreed- its no different than paying the lottery, you throw down serious cash over the lifetime of your playing hoping to hit the big one.There is no way anyone is gonna convince you to back off playing.. its all about what if l won .Like a moth to a flame this codger was reeled in with the chance of having won.

But paying out $400, 000 to scammers is mindboggling.

Comment #22

JoeCanWin — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:35:41 GMT

Hi everyone,

Even though I joined a few months ago, this is my first post. So, I'm saying Hi I play Powerball and Megamillions regularly.

Now, on to this story, I agree with Ronnie316 when he said: Some people wait all their life to hear Your a winner! They just are. I feel sorry for the 81 yr old in this story, but at the same time, I'm thinking, How could you do this? How (on Earth) could you fall for this scam? Seriously, he learned a valuable lesson the rock-hard way. Hopefully by him... [ More ]

Comment #21

haymaker — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:55:17 GMT

I think what happens is the computer dials 4 different phone #s at a time,

whoever answers 1st gets the sales pitch, the others are disconnected.

I just let the machine answer, sometimes you get a recording talking to a recording. LOL

Comment #20

sully16 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:45:19 GMT

I agree, what a sad story, I hate to see anyone taken advantage in that way.

Comment #19

Ronnie316 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:50:16 GMT

We will likely never know the full store. I do know that computers call my number all the time just to see if there is an answer. If I answered all the random calls that come in, I get put on lists a my call count per day can go through the roof.

Comment #18

Ronnie316 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:46:17 GMT

Perhaps she was on gov-ment assistance.

Comment #17

gocart1 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 18:58:38 GMT

Poor old guy....he just wanted to win so bad it messed up he's thinking...

Comment #16

Tim Nolan — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 18:36:09 GMT

I guess the question I have is, if he was so concerned about the medical bills of his wife, why the heck would he not use that $400,000

to pay for them, rather than give it away? Just wondering.

Comment #15

Stack47 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 18:27:40 GMT

It looks like Norman Breidenbaugh was involved in several scams Other calls followed, promising Breidenbaugh millions more even a Mercedes Benz . I average about 10 of these emails a month, but never answered any of them; I can't imagine how many I'd get if answered one. Part of me feels sorry for the guy and part of me wonders why someone would think they won something they never entered and would have to pay to get their winnings.

I never told anybody what kind of mess I was in because I w... [ More ]

Comment #14

Bleedblue21 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 18:21:12 GMT

It seems that since Americans are being targeted for these scams (more directly the senior citizens)...I believe the way we retaliate against these foreign countries is to BOYCOT TRAVELING TO THESE DESTINATIONS !!!

Hit them in the pocketbook the same way they hit us. Stop traveling to Jamaica...pretty simple solution to me. Will teach their government to be more strict on ALL illegal internet activity...and if they see tourist monies dropping at an alarming rate, perhaps they will get the pic... [ More ]

Comment #13

noise-gate — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:48:15 GMT

Darn straight. I get phone calls from time to time with area codes l am not familiar with, l simply press delete - if it is a relative whose moved into those area codes, they had better send an email letting me know ' cause lm not picking up.

Sad story no doubt but at least his gonna warn others about this deceptive practice by some worthless folk out there.

Comment #12

rdgrnr — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:44:53 GMT

Governments could catch these guys if they worked together or really cared about it.

But they really don't care about it cuz there's no payoff for them.

It's every man for himself nowadays.

Comment #11

savagegoose — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:11:12 GMT

maybe he has dementia, and forgot how much he sent

Comment #10

dallascowboyfan — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:10:29 GMT

All I can say is if your parents grandparents are still living please make sure you check on them ask questions about their finances.

Comment #9

RJOh — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:58:44 GMT

They would have to make a lot of phone calls before they found a poor greedy sucker with $400K to scam.

Comment #8

RedStang — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:40:13 GMT

That would make a good Dateline show. Scam a bunch of people, then give it back and watch their jaws drop.

Comment #7

MADDOG10 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:31:59 GMT

If only the Television stations around the country would Air warnings about these scammers, a lot of this would never happen.

They can Air time other items of their choosing, why not Air time something to help these Seniors....

Comment #6

Ronnie316 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:17:08 GMT

I think some people wait their whole life to here the words Your a winner

Comment #5

rooster8786 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:12:37 GMT

I haven't been to a foreign country or entered a foreign lottery so how could I have won? That should have been the first question! Then he should have hung up the phone...

Comment #4

Ronnie316 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:12:12 GMT

This is why I don't answer calls from strange area codes. Anyone who answers such calls ends up on some vary strange LISTS.

Comment #3

Ronnie316 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:08:26 GMT

How bout, after the first DAY people should be asking questions.

Comment #2

lottolaughs — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:51:17 GMT

Uh...excuse me...did I read $400,000 over 6 years? After even the FIRST year don't you think you'd figure out it was some kind of a scam? Yeah,it's sad and all but how many more of these do we have to read about before folks wake up.

If he had that kind of money to begin with...well,now...that's a nice chunk of change that most people don't even have sitting in their bank account. Why wasn't he using that instead for his wife's care.

Greed is a horrible thing.... [ More ]

Comment #1

Chris$ — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:42:10 GMT

What a shame. Its horrible to scam someone and its really too bad

at the age if 81 he still doesnt know there is no such thing as free money

If it sounds to good to be true it usually is....

Baltimore man, 81, loses his home after falling for lottery scam

Lottery Post — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:01:33 GMT

The first caller told Norman Breidenbaugh he had won $2.5 million in a foreign sweepstakes, but there was a catch: Breidenbaugh needed to send $2,000 in fees before collecting his earnings.

Other calls followed, promising Breidenbaugh millions more even a Mercedes Benz as long as he would wire some money to pay taxes on the prizes. He obliged, sending more than $400,000 over about six years, hoping the promised winnings would cover his wife's medical expenses.

The prizes never came. The pe... [ More ]