The Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office is investigating an incident in which a woman in the Virginia county was bilked out of nearly $30,000 after being promised lottery riches, court records show.
According to an affidavit for a search warrant filed in Spotsylvania Circuit Court, the 68-year-old victim was at the Spotsylvania Towne Centre late last month when she was approached by two Hispanic women who asked her for a ride.
Det. William Lee wrote that the women told the victim that they had a winning $2 million lottery ticket but were unable to cash it because of their immigration status. They told the victim that they would give her $1 million if she helped them cash in the ticket.
The victim was told there was a $60,000 processing fee and was convinced by the con artists to withdraw half of the fee from her bank account.
Lee wrote that she went to two different Wells Fargo banks in Spotsylvania and withdrew a total of $29,000. She then drove the scam artists to a Bank of America in Central Park in Fredericksburg to supposedly withdraw their part of the processing fee.
The victim saw the women put what she believed to be their portion of the fee into a bag in the glove box of the victim's car. They then took the victim's cash and put it in the same bag.
They then asked the victim to stop at the CVS on Breezewood Drive in Spotsylvania to get drinks. The victim went into the store while the con artists waited outside.
Lee wrote that when the victim returned to her car, the women and all of the cash were gone. The victim had never seen the women prior to being approached at the mall.
Lee obtained search warrant for surveillance camera footage at the various banks. As of Monday, no arrests had been made.
Thanks to hearsetrax for the tip.
If you going to part with your savings to total strangers : Simply ask them to accompany you to the closest lottery convenience store, ask these stranger's to hand you the ticket & scan that puppy yourself.If it's a winner, ask the clerk to run that ticket to verify your findings .If these strangers refuse, simply walk away.End of story.
Why didn't she just offer to only take 940k from the winnings?
IF the processing fee was 60k nobody would play a lottery in which you can win 1 billion. What's the processing fee for that?
Criminals are ruining the lives of all of us. We must say NO to all requests. No to hitchhikers, No to beggars, No to con artists, No to everyone. Even say NO to children who may be doing the bidding of their parents.
We must be content with our family and the few close friends we have. Refer every request to the professional social workers.
This $30,000.00 is now being spent on illegal drugs and alcohol.
Being a tightwad in this day and age could save you from some grief.
Lottery Post members are well armed to defend themselves.
What is it that makes suckers & Elderly innocent people obvious prey? Is it the way they walk,gaze too long at watermelons or what? I once read that if you constantly looking up at tall buildings in NYC- you immediately identified as a tourist.Older person's need refresher courses on " How not to be taken advantage of."
Police just released this photo of the perp.
It is just the fact that they ARE elderly. Not all, but a lot of elderly are not in very good shape physically. This makes them able to be easily intimidated because they know they are not strong enough to resist or fight back.
Also, a lot but not all elderly, have begun to "slip" mentally. They are just not as sharp as they used to be. It is nothing they did. It is just part of the natural aging process which we all go through, and some people are more effected than others.
Refresher courses may not be all that much help, as sometimes (depending on their age) too much info all at once is just too much for them to take in or understand. A much better course of action would be to have them just say,"I need to check with my son or daughter first," or some other trusted relative or friend.
And finally, it is not just the elderly that fall victim to con artists. There are plenty of people who fall for various scams and cons on a daily basis whether they be telephone, email, or other Internet scams. Think of all the people who are victimized by bad investment advisers or Ponzi schemes.
She should have told them to just hang on while she called ICE.
Good to know sat any age;
http://defendyourself101.ca/reviews/hapkido-cane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-C6pl4dvIk
State laws vary but in Illinois for example sine a cane has a rubber tip it is a medical device and not a weapon.
Not wise to tangle with someone who knows how to use one.
Let me see if I got this right Maximillions: Nicht Verstehe.
These stories sicken me; I wish there was a law on the books preventing folks from getting large sums of money @ once. Better yet, have the police show up and let them try to pull a fast one then.
sweet link ,CT
will have to remember this next time I'm in old town jejejeje
G, l get what you saying...But in this case, this Elderly person reasoned to herself, that she was going to come into a great deal more money in exchange for her paltry share. You dont drive to more than one bank to withdraw $30,000 in one day if you not "all there." Her greed got the better of her.She went into those banks by herself with a smile l gaurentee you, had the bank folk seen those crooks aiding her to withdraw money, that right there would have sent a tremor through the teller. I mention refresher courses to simply get the message out " Don't fall for it." This person was NOT a victim, she was a willing participant until things went South.
The bank tellers had to be suspicious of someone withdrawing that type of money....especially an older person. I bet the lady didn't tell the tellers why she was doing it otherwise they would have called the police and told her she was being scammed. There is more to this story, but I bet that the scam artists told the lady to lie to the tellers when they asked about why she was withdrawing that type of money and the lady went along with it.
I grew up in West Palm Beach, FL (god's waiting room). Most bank tellers ask a lot of questions when an elderly client starts trying to withdraw large sums of cash. Vanguard will freeze the person's account if they suspect fraud or elder abuse.
In any event, it looks like greed got the best of this lady. She is lucky she did not agree to pay the entire $60k processing fee.
So sad!!!