Within days, a Hollister woman received two letters in early
September that said she won a foreign lottery but, luckily, she had
a friend to tell her they were both a scam.
Within days, a Hollister woman received two letters in early September that said she won a foreign lottery but, luckily, she had a friend to tell her they were both a scam.
It is somewhat common in San Benito County, Hollister Police Capt. Carlos Reynoso said. Around 10 of these crimes get reported each year within the county and most of them lose some money. Almost all of the fraud letters are aimed at the elderly.
“It’s not that common anymore but it is still more common than we would like,” he said.
The scams are similar to e-mails in which someone asks for monetary help in another country, Reynoso said. They ask for the recipient to deposit a check and send a portion of the money back. A few days later the check will void, because it’s fake, and the recipient will lose the money they mailed away.
The letters received by the Hollister woman asked for her to deposit the checks into the bank and send a check back to the company to pay for taxes of her lottery winnings. The two letters, which she received within seven days of each other, came from addresses in New York and Canada.
The woman supposedly won two lotteries worth $450,000 and $65,000.
Reynoso said the suspects are usually hard to track because the letters usually come from P.O. boxes that are out of the country.
“We really can’t do anything,” he said.
To avoid being scammed, just use common sense, Reynoso said.
“If it seems to good to be true then it usually is,” he said. “If you get a letter that you won a lottery that you never bought a ticket for, why would you think you’ve won it?”
Those who receive similar letters should call the police at 636-4330 so they can follow up on leads.
