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Who says lottery scam only occurs online?
A 68-year old woman was scammed by 2 scammers by the name of “Blanca” and “Raphael” at an East-Naples Walmart. Blanca said that she is homeless and needed a ride to a local shelter, and Raphael also appears to help provide the direction to one of these shelter.
In the car, Blanca told the old woman that she has a lottery ticket and began calling the “lottery company”. The other person on the phone told Blanca that she had won $250,000, but also said that Blanca cannot claim the prize unless she can show a large amount of money to prove that she had financial means.
So Blanca asked the old woman for help. The old woman gave Blanca the money, and Blanca disappeared for good. Blanca just won a real lottery – unfortunately the money is from the old lady.
We assumed that the old lady emptied her bank account… because she had to use “advance cash” from her credit card to top-up the sum of money.
Warning: Never take out any Money or Pay Anything when claiming any lottery winnings etc. Every stupid Lottery Scam – the reason why it is a scam – want Your Money instead of giving you the prize. This is stupid.
Some leads:
The woman who said her name was Blanca is described as Hispanic, in
her mid 50s with salt-and-pepper hair. She is 5 feet 6 inches tall. She
was wearing a hat with a brim, glasses with rounded frames and a thin,
light blue sweater.
The man who claimed to be Raphael is described as Hispanic, in his
late 40s or early 50s, 5 feet 7 inches tall with a mole on his face. He
was wearing a blue and tan striped dress shirt and khaki pants.
