Phone scams prey on state residents
By Staff
special to The Star
August 28, 2004
State Attorney General Jim Hood's office in Jackson continues to receive daily calls from people who have become prey of telephone scams and he wants people to be aware of them.
Hood and Robert J. Garrity Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI in Mississippi, announced recently that elderly people in Mississippi have lost thousands of dollars to telemarketing scams originating out of Canada.
The FBI has been working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in two separate operations to identify fraudulent telemarketers operating from Canada who are targeting U.S. residents.
But once the money is lost, there is little authorities can do to recover it.
One such scam in particular has been around since at least 2002 and seems to be targeting Mississippi seniors at a higher rate than ever before.
Generally, the scam begins with a telephone call stating that the person has won money in some type of Canadian lottery or sweepstakes. The callers represent themselves as attorneys who must settle the payout.
Amounts of reported bogus winnings vary from $50,000 to $500,000.
Questionable calls
Usually, the caller says he needs a certain amount of money to pay the Canadian taxes or customs charges to send the winnings to the United States. This amount can range from $1,000 to more than $10,000.
Once the scam artists receive that money, they will usually ask for payment for some other charge.
Often, the callers will even pose as U.S. Customs officials over the phone to try and cheat the victim out of as much money as possible.
Based upon FBI information, between Jan. 1 and June 30, an estimated 340 U.S. victims lost about $2.25 million to these fraudulent telemarketers. One Mississippi senior citizen lost more than $80,000.
The FBI recently received a complaint from a retired Mississippi school teacher who received a call from Canada. The teacher was told she had won $100,000 in a Canadian sweepstakes.
As directed, she wired $10,000 to what she thought was an attorney's office in Canada. Once that money was received, the scam artists requested more money for some other fictitious tax or customs fee.
The victim called the FBI. Even though she was advised not to send any more money, she sent the scammers $20,000 more. Her $30,000 was lost and never recovered.
New version
Now, officials said, a new version of this scam has surfaced. The sweepstakes sponsor, supposedly the government of Canada, is sending unsolicited "checks" to consumers.
One Mississippi resident recently received a letter allegedly from the government of Canada, along with a check made payable to her for more than $2,000.
The letter told her that she had won $100,000 in the International Lottery Sweepstakes and that the government of Canada was sending her a prepayment of $2,000 to cover the necessary fees to claim the $100,000 prize.
She was told to cash the check and send the funds to the government of Canada. She would then receive her lottery winnings.
The woman suspected this was a scam and contacted the Mississippi Attorney General's Office. She did not cash the check, which later proved to be counterfeit, and she did not send any money to Canada.
The Attorney General's Office says that any senior citizen who receives a suspected fraudulent telemarketing call should discuss this matter with a police officer, an adult child, or minister before responding.
Officials added that if you do win something legitimately, you will not be asked to pay anything to receive it; any legitimate fee or tax will simply be taken out of any winnings.
If someone asks you to pay money in advance, it is a scam. If you are asked to cash a check and then send money, it is a scam. Also, you will usually not win something unless you enter. If you do not recall entering a contest, it is probably a scam.
