WASHINGTON - The envelope declared that the 90-year-old man in suburban Fairfax County, Va.,
had won $2.5 million in a sweepstakes, and that he needed to send in only some
small "fees" and "taxes" to collect. When the man from Jamaica kept calling to
tell him that he needed to cover a few "costs" to collect the jackpot, the man
thought that was reasonable. And he sent money.
When the man's children tried to intervene, saying it was a scam, he went around them.
At one point, at the children's request, U.S. postal inspectors intercepted an envelope bound for Jamaica. Inside: a
cashier's check for $18,000.
The children said they think they have stopped about $40,000 from being sent by their father. The 90-year-old is not being
named here because he is the victim of a crime and because investigators do not
want others to prey on him.
The children have since obtained power of attorney over their parents. "It's sad," one of their children said, "but if we
had not stepped in, I believe they would be totally broke right now."
Unsuspecting 'winners'
Inspector Jeanne Graupmann has a thousand stories
just like this.
From a set of hidden offices behind the suburban regional post office, Graupmann and about two dozen other investigators for
the U.S. Postal Inspection Service track fraud from around the world that
involves the mail and winds up in Northern Virginia.
The office also investigates mail theft, identity fraud, mortgage fraud, dangerous mailings and other crimes involving the
Postal Service.
When it comes to fraud, it would seem that e-mail scams are the latest favorite of criminals. But many of those scams
require victims to send money through the mail. And scam artists have learned
that good old "snail mail," particularly advertising a jackpot in a sweepstakes
or lottery, still snares plenty of unsuspecting "winners."
Those most often targeted are elderly, Graupmann said.
"The seniors just get bombarded with this stuff," she said. "And some of them are just really insistent on responding to
these scams."
Devious schemers
And once you respond to a phony sweepstakes or lottery
mailing, almost always from another country, your name goes on a list that is
circulated among other devious schemers in the underworld, Graupmann said. The
veteran inspector has spent hours with victims, trying to convince them that
they shouldn't send money to Nigeria or Canada or Jamaica.
"They don't believe me," she said. "They believe the scammer."
So the Postal Inspection Service is trying to alert the children and grandchildren of the elderly to monitor the mail and
the spending habits of their parents or grandparents before their life savings
disappear.
Key points to remember: By law, sweepstakes cannot charge any fees in the U.S., and if someone receives a lot of
sweepstakes, something's wrong.
Postal inspectors also try to investigate the source of fraud schemes. In 2005, Graupmann traveled to Nigeria to meet with
government officials. In addition to finding numerous cyber cafes with nearby
money transfer shops, Graupmann found legitimate printing companies that
reopened late at night to print thousands and thousands of mailings, including
fake checks and money orders.
Although banks are well aware of the schemes, front-line tellers often can't catch a counterfeit check, Postal Inspector
Brian Vranizan said.
Serving International Law Enforcement, Investigators and Anti-scam Specialists
