A 73-year-old Conway woman and a local bank representative contacted police after bank employees realized the woman was scammed out of nearly $30,000 over the course of six days last week.
The bank representative reportedly provided police with a list of withdrawals totaling $29,500 the woman had made from Sept. 11 through Sept. 17.
The representative said that while the woman was at the bank on Tuesday, employees questioned what she was doing with the money.
When she advised them of the reason for the withdrawals, the employees reportedly refused to allow her to remove any more money from the account.
According to the police report, the woman received correspondence in the mail from an entity called “Mega Millions.”
The first page of the mailer included a picture of Donald Trump congratulating the woman on becoming a millionaire. The second page included a photo of a James Adams, who claimed to be the person in charge of her claim.
Letters to the woman claimed that she was chosen in a random drawing held on April 28 as the winner of a total sum of $9.8 million and the keys to a brand new 2012 Mercedes Benz.
The letters instructed the woman to contact both the manager of the claims and Donald Trump at the listed phone numbers to claim her prize.
After contacting the numbers, the woman was instructed to send a series of cashier’s checks to “Leslie Holly” in Philadelphia, Penn., “Clide Graham” in Miami Gardens, Fla. and “Eddie Carbett” in Dophan, Ala.
The woman also sent three $1,000 Walmart cards and their activation numbers to “Leslie Holly” via overnight mail.
The investigation is ongoing.
(Megan Reynolds is a staff writer and can be reached at 505-1277 or by e-mail at megan.reynolds@thecabin.net. To comment on this story and others, visit www.thecabin.net.)
Comments (14)
Add commentwhy oh why
do people fall for this kinda thing?
Because
Because they are older and more naive and they trust people to tell the truth... you know, like they used to when they were growing up.
Don't be so harsh to judge these victims.
Good a place as any to insert
Not too long ago the Conway Police Dept had a “Shop Secure Crime Prevention Alert” noticed placed inside Conway Corporation billing notices. Maybe it is time to send another one for “Scam Alert.” This would make its way to thousands of households and may help someone in the future. No, you can’t stop this completely but to get the word out to people who don’t get the paper, have internet or venture out much. Anyone living in the city limits is going to get a Conway Corp bill.
And for crying out loud, if you know an elderly person, thoroughly explain how Scam’s work.
Here’s some tips from Arkansas Attorney General’s website:
How To Avoid Scams
• Wiring money is like giving cash away. If you wire money, there is no protection for you if you later learn that the recipient is not who they claimed to be.
• Never give out personal or banking information in response to a phone, email or mail inquiry. Contact the entity requesting the information directly through a different method to verify that it is a reputable company with which you have an existing relationship.
• Never send money to someone who you don't know and haven't met in person.
• When purchasing items or services online, make sure you research the seller and know their physical location.
• If you are giving to charity, especially in the wake of a natural disaster, give to an organization that has a strong history in providing relief. Instead of paying in cash, make a check or money order payable to the charitable organization, not an individual.
• Most importantly, if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Investigate the offer before accepting or paying any money.
Wonderful Post!
This was a wonderful post, IDKM, and it is full of excellent information. Your idea for an informational insert with the Conway Corp. bill is a terrific idea. Thank you for writing this.
so
what's the difference between this and the lottery?
statistically speaking, nearly zero.
Those darn lottery tickets
I had no idea when purchasing my $30,000 worth of lottery tickets last week that it was a scam.
Now how am I going to pay for my abortion?
simple
"Now how am I going to pay for my abortion?"
You already do, with your tax dollars.
I would think
The difference is one is mail fraud and robbery and the other is a legal form of gambling approved by state voters in which the odds of winning are clearly posted.
well
Good job on the bankers for noticing something out of the ordinary and stepping in. Those are good employees and I hope the company gives them a raise or something to reward their effort for going above and beyond.
Good point
At first I was thinking it's really none of their business. But the woman could have just said that and told them nothing. They did the right thing.