It goes something like this. Congratulations you have just won the sweepstakes (lottery, etc.). All you need to do is send us some money to cover the taxes (processing, legal fees, etc.), and we will bring you the money. This recently happened to my 91-year-old mother-in-law (MIL).
We became aware of this crime when my sister-in-law reviewed her mother’s bank account on line, which showed a withdrawal of $4000 from a saving account. She called the bank and the teller confirmed that MIL had withdrawn the money on Tuesday. MIL told the clerk she was sending the money to a person in Colorado and gave the teller the mailing address for that person—Ruby Ridley in Aurora, CO. Although the teller suggested that she use a cashier’s check rather than sending cash, she insisted on having cash.
Her daughters talked to their mother on Tuesday afternoon by phone about the withdrawal of money. At first she refused to discuss the transaction and urged the girls not to worry. She was very nonchalant at this point and would not say why she withdrew money. She said that everything was fine, there was no need to worry; everything would be over the next day.
By Wednesday we had gotten more information from her about the scam. She thought that she had won about $70,000. Apparently, she had been talking to the scammers for several weeks. The plan was that after they received the money, someone would meet her at her bank to bring her the money. That transaction was supposed to occur on Thursday. She still didn’t understand then, and probably for several days, that she had been duped. She wanted someone to go with her to receive the money, so my brother-in-law went there on Thursday. Of course, we were certain that no money would arrive. Sure enough, someone called her on Thursday morning to say that they would not be able to bring the money until later.
MIL had talked to her nephew’s daughter’s husband who is a lawyer before she sent the money describing to him what she was thinking of doing. Of course, he told her under no circumstances should she send any cash through the mail. She did it anyway.
She sent the money by US Postal Service overnight mail. It arrived the next day, on Wednesday. We were not able to get the tracking number until it was too late to intercept the package.
After the scammers received the money, they continued to call, saying they needed more money to continue processing the award. Surprise, surprise!
One of her daughters called the phone number a couple of times that was frequently used to call MIL. A person always answered, but the conversation was never pleasant. He said MIL was his friend and she gave him the money. He claimed to be in New York City, although his phone number area code was 876, which is probably in Jamaica. Apparently, scam calls from this area code are very common. My sister-in-law told him to stop calling her mother—we are on to your scam! He was defiant. He once told her that he would stop calling her mother if she would send him $500. He once told her that if she were in Haiti, he would have her smothered. He called her back once to say, “You will pay…”
Right away, we knew the address of where she sent the money, because she left the address with the bank teller. She also kept the receipt from the post office which had the address and a tracking number.
The address was an apartment building in Aurora, CO. It seemed to be a legitimate place, because I could find it on the Internet. I called the post office in Aurora and talked to a supervisor. I explained what had happened and asked for his help. Because at that time I didn’t have the tracking number, there wasn’t much he could do. I didn’t realize at this point that the money had already been delivered. However, he offered to try to intercept the money by alerting the mail carrier to watch for a package from Arkansas.
I called the Police Department in Aurora for assistance. The dispatcher said there was nothing they could do and advised me to call the Attorney General’s Office in my state, which I had already done.
I called the Postal Inspector’s Office and filed a report. They suggested that I also file a report with the Federal Trade Commission, which I did. I talked several times with the Arkansas Attorney General’s office. They provided advice about how to avoid being scammed, but they did not file a report.
When the scammers continued to call after receiving the money, it became clear that they would try to get more money. If so, why not set a trap, so to speak. I thought the police, Postal Inspector, or someone from the Federal Trade Commission could go to the address in Colorado when the next “payment” was due to arrive. So, I called all these folks back with this proposition—let’s catch them in the act! However, they all said they couldn’t do anything like that. Since I had already filed a report, that’s all I could do.
I fantasized about having Eugene or Vinny show up there with a baseball bat or a double-bladed ax. Perhaps, a few broken bones would send these bastards a message.
We learned much later that MIL had sent two overnight packages to the same address in Colorado. The first time was about three days before she sent $4000 in cash. We don’t know how much she sent the first time, because she doesn’t remember. We believe she probably sent about $200. We monitor her bank account withdrawals, and there was only one unexplained withdrawal—a $200 check written to “Cash”.
We are resigned to the fact that the scammer will not be caught. We arranged to limit the amount of money MIL has access to. We monitor her credit card and bank accounts. If she is scammed again, they won’t be able to get very much money.
One month after I filed a report with the Office of the Postal Inspector, an Inspector called me to say they planned to visit Ruby Ridley in Aurora, CO as part of their investigation. They promised to call me back with an update. I hope they take a baseball bat with them…
This episode emphasizes an unfortunate truth. The elderly are very vulnerable to these kinds of scams. Changes in their brain make them more prone to act in irrational ways. It’s our responsibility to assist our elderly loved ones so they won’t be victimized. If we have to break a few legs along the way, so be it.
