FRAUDSTERS conned more than £700 out of an 85-year-old Guernseywoman by telling her she had won $1m. in a lottery.
The police fraud department is warning people to be aware of such a scam and that unsolicited contact, whether by phone, letter or email, could be an attempt to trick people into sending cash. ‘We just want people to be aware and we don’t want others to fall victim to this type of thing,’ said Detective Constable Graham Goude.
The pensioner was contacted last week by telephone and told that to claim her prize she must pay taxes in the country of origin. She was instructed to send the cash via the Moneygram system used by Guernsey Post. Believing the call to be genuine, she sent £212.
The woman received three more calls instructing her to send cash via Moneygram to Panama City and the Dominican Republic. She eventually sent a total of £722.
Each payment was made to a different person, each with a South American/Spanish-sounding name.
On the third occasion, DC Goude said the woman had expressed concern at the money she had been asked to send.
‘The woman then had a call from one of the fraudsters purporting to be a lawyer representing Moneygram who said the calls were genuine and that the taxes were owed.’
The scam was uncovered when counter staff at the Smith Street Post Office became suspicious and alerted police before the woman could send a further £149.
‘This woman was shocked that she had been taken in in such a way and genuinely embarrassed,’ said DC Goude.
‘She was never asked for contact details or an address, she had never entered such a lottery and had believed everything she had been told.’
The woman told police that she did enter a lot of competitions and DC Goude believes the fraudsters could have obtained her details from someone else’s database.
He said that islanders had fallen victim to such scams in the past and that some incidents had not been reported to police.
‘People need to be aware when asked to send money via Moneygram or Western Union why they are being asked to do so. If they have any suspicions, they can call me in confidence,’ he said.
* DC Goude can be contacted on 719449.
Article posted on 24th April, 2008 - 2.29pm
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