87-year-old woman scammed for $800K
The family of an elderly South Strabane Township woman told township police last week that she had been conned out of about $800,000 over the past several months in a version of a foreign lottery scam.
The daughter and son-in-law of the 87-year-old woman called police after the alleged victim got another call Dec. 27 from what was believed to be a Jamaican telephone number. The caller represented himself as being from Publishers Clearing House, telling her she had won $750,000 but that she needed to send $300 to collect her winnings.
The caller persuaded the woman to get a money card in the amount of $300 and send it to him.
The woman’s daughter told police the case also is being investigated by a U.S. postal inspector. One of the callers actually used the name of the inspector assigned to the case. A caller also posed as a representative of the woman’s bank.
Her family told police they have taken control of the 87-year-old’s assets, but told police they believe she has been conned out of $800,000 in these scams. They also have taken her cellphone so she can no longer be contacted by the scammers. Police said the elderly woman is still convinced she will eventually get the money she was promised by the callers.
Township police Detective Ken Torboli said officers from his department were contacted in the past by the woman’s family regarding the scams. He said she is not alone in her belief she will still get the money.
“We try to tell them they are not a winner,” the detective said. “But they just don’t comprehend they have been duped.”
Torboli said that any time a caller claims a money card must be purchased in order to send prize winnings, it should be a red flag that it is a scam.
“If it seems too good to be true, it probably is a scam,” Torboli said. “Don’t be ashamed to be skeptical of a pretty unlikely offer.”
Torboli suggests the intended victim call a family member or trusted friend before agreeing to provide any money. He said one scam has the con artist telling a loved one that a family member was hurt in a foreign country or needs bail money because they are in jail. The detective said to call another family member to verify before sending money.
The detective said there are any number of schemes.
“And it seems that if one con gets old and people get on to it, they come up with something else,” Torboli said.
The detective said the prepaid money gift cards are hard to trace, which is likely why they are used by the con artists.
“The money has probably been dumped from the card before the victim gets off the phone with the caller,” he added.
Personal information including bank account and Social Security numbers should never be given out over the telephone, Torboli also advised.