Carmen Flores was finishing an outreach call Monday morning in the back of a Pasadena post office when, across the room, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service started the press conference to warn older citizens and caregivers about lottery scams. 

As postal inspectors took to the podium to inform people about lottery fraud, Flores was helping a 92-year-old man who had mailed envelopes to scammers an hour earlier in hopes of hitting it big. 

“We were able to call the post office he had mailed the items from,” said Flores, an analyst with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “They found seven different pieces of mail going to seven different scammers. One to Australia, one to the Netherlands and the other ones were domestic. That’s a success.” 

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service teamed up with the National Telemarketing Victim Call Center (NTVCC) to hold the press conference during National Consumer Protection Week, March 3-9. The groups focused on foreign and domestic scams that target older citizens, promising cash prizes and luxury items in exchange for seemingly smaller amounts of money. 

“Reputable lotteries and contests will never ask you to pay fees to claim a prize,” said Regina Faulkerson, assistant postal inspector in charge of the Los Angeles division. “If someone asks you to pay, they’re scamming you.”

According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, American consumers have lost $42 million in the last three years to lottery scams. 

Faulkerson said that many older Americans don’t report being the victim of fraud because they’re embarrassed and fear their independence may be taken away. 

“That’s why it’s very important that caregivers help us out,” Faulkerson said. “Oftentimes, [scammers] are using various technologies to solicit older Americans, involving tricking caller ID, making them think they’re closer than they are.”

Faulkerson advised caretakers to look around older relatives’ and friends’ homes for large stacks of sweepstakes, lottery solicitation, international phone charges and unknown calls, as these are all signs of fraud. 

Scammers will invest time and develop relationships in their solicitations.

Violeta, a registered nurse who declined to give her last name, spoke about being a fraud victim. Violeta responded to solicitations in 2009 that promised her $2.5 million and a Mercedes-Benz. The lotteries asked her to pay processing fees and $600 to what they called a federal reserve board. Because it was a federal entity, Violeta said, she paid the fee. 

The scammers then asked her for $70,000 for taxes on her winnings. She declined because she hadn’t received a prize. A year later, the scammers contacted her to ask if she had saved the amount. When she said she hadn’t, they asked for a smaller amount - $5,000. Violeta said she sent a personal check that was intervened by the Postal Service and she was told it was a scam. 

After two years, Violeta had given scammers $1,500.

Senior citizens are targeted because they’re trusting, said NTVCC president and senior, Hope Witkowsky. 

NTVCC staff and volunteers call older citizens from the small room at the post office, reaching out to inform them about different types of scams. Authorities give them call lists retrieved from scammers that have been investigated. 

“The one-on-one conversations can reduce the rates of victimization by about 30 percent,” said NTVCC executive director Melodye Kleinman.

Interventions like the one Flores accomplished with the 92-year-old man are rare, Witkowsky said.

“I’m sure it’s not the first time [that man had sent money to scammers],” Flores said. “If he received seven different mail from seven different sources, he’s been contacted before.”

The man hadn’t sent a large amount of money - $45 per envelope - but volunteer Tony Leto said that’s how scammers perpetuate their business. 

After the press conference, Leto continued making calls and spoke with a woman who said she sent money on numerous occasions.

“We asked her, 'Didn’t you suspect it was a fraud after three or four times? Why did you keep sending money in?'” Leto said. “She says, ‘It was only $10 or $20 and I think that’s a small price to pay in the million to one chance that the sweepstake is legitimate.’ [Scammers are] smart enough not to ask for a bunch of money, but something that the average person can afford and not miss.”

The call center started six years ago and operates with up to 10 volunteers and staff per day. Kleinman estimated each person is able to make 30-70 calls per day. Not only do they inform people of scams but follow up with fraud victims. 

“Some are chronic, some have been contributing for years,” Leto said. “Some have mental problems, some are aged, but most people are betting on hope.” 

 

Find more information on lottery fraud here.

Reach Editor-in-Chief Agnus Dei Farrant here.