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$33,000 lost in lottery scams
Published 11:48 a.m., December 1, 2009
Fergus Falls police are investigating a series of scams that left an 81-year-old woman out $33,000.
The scams were reported Monday after the victim, a rural Fergus Falls woman, had sent thousands of dollars to the scam agencies over a period of a month.
Det. Andrew Miller said he believes the woman’s contact information was circulated among three different scam agencies after she sent money to an organization posing as Publishers Clearing House. The legitimate Publishers Clearing House does not ask for money orders, Miller said.
Subsequent callers told the woman she had won a prize and that to obtain the prize, she’d need to send payments to addresses in Florida and Idaho, among other locations, Miller said. The victim made the payments via MoneyGram.
The victim reported the scams after someone at her bank referred her to authorities, Miller said. Police intend to contact the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission to see if they have open cases on any of the groups in question, one of which has been identified as Jamaica-based Winners International.
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The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post. To post a comment you will need to register. Or, if you're already registered but have not included your true, verifiable identity with your registration, you will need to update your account to include your identity. Effective Dec. 1, 2009, all posts appear with the commenter's true identity, which must be verified by site staff. Those who registered prior to Dec. 1, 2009, should be aware that once you update your information with your true identity, all prior posts under your user name will also indicate your true identity. If you do not wish to link yourself to prior comments, you should register again with a different user name.Posted by eripsni (Paul Tommerdahl) on December 2, 2009 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The people that run these things are the scum of the earth. Most people by now have figured out that anytime someone asks you to send money to claim a prize, it is ALWAYS a fraud. However, they continue to prey on the elderly. I hope that these scumbag scammers have it come back to them one day.
Posted by tbaarr (chuck weber) on December 2, 2009 at 7:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
the only payback they will get is at judgement day
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