Scammers Preying on Lottery Jackpot Hopefuls
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Police say the scammers are working in teams of two.
San Jose Police are putting out a word of caution after several complaints of a lottery trap.
Scammers from Central and South America are using a lotto scam to prey on elderly people in San Jose's Hispanic community.
The con artists work in teams of two.
The first person strikes up a conversation with their victim in a parking lot, asking them for directions or something else mundane. They then happen to show a lottery ticket that they claim has the winning numbers for a big prize. But they say they can't claim because they're not a U.S. citizen.
The cohort shows up, asking if they need any help. The original scammer says the California Lottery will only cash the ticket if they can put up some collateral. They call a "Lotto official" who confirms this bogus info to the victim. The victim tries to help by putting up their money or something valuable as collateral. Before they know it, they've been duped.
Police and the real Lottery officials want you to know that anyone can cash in a winning lotto ticket. You don't have to be a U.S. citizen. No collateral is needed -- and California Lottery will never confirm winning numbers over the phone.
Posted Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 11:22 AM PST
