May 14, 2008

Woman loses $400,000 in lottery scam

Case will be given to FBI

By Shaun Bishop / Daily News Staff Writer

A 90-year-old San Carlos woman who thought she had won the lottery instead fell victim to an international fraud scheme that bilked her out of more than $400,000, police said Tuesday.

The woman told police someone called her in January saying she had won a lottery, but that taxes and processing fees needed to be paid in advance because the winnings would come from another country.

Over the next four months, she sent more than 20 payments to addresses in Bulgaria and Israel. The scammers placed follow-up calls, encouraging her to keep the money coming.

But her winnings never arrived, and a family member who realized what had happened called San Carlos police Saturday.

"The lottery scam is not something new," said police Sgt. Mark Robbins. "It's very sad and unfortunate, but they do periodically come to our attention."

With the money changing hands internationally, there is little local police can do, Robbins said. The case will be forwarded to the FBI and the Secret Service, though the chances of a good result for the victim are slim.

"In most of these cases, unfortunately, the money is gone," Robbins said.

He said reports of various types of fraud are becoming increasingly common, though most scams don't involve such a large sum of money.

In other cases, local elderly residents have been preyed upon by people who ask them to make withdrawals from their bank accounts, usually promising some sort of reward in return. Or a scammer might say he distrusts the U.S. banking system and wants a resident to prove it works, Robbins said.

Just like the old saying, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, police said.

"Do not give your money to people you don't know," Robbins said. "Banks don't operate that way. People don't generally approach you on the street. You don't get phone calls at home. That just doesn't happen legitimately."

For more information about different types of scams, call your local police department or visit www.fbi.gov/

majcases/fraud/fraudschemes.htm.



E-mail Shaun Bishop at sbishop@dailynewsgroup.com.