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David
N. Kirkman
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North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services |
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Cross-Border
Frauds--Greensboro PD Warning & Montreal Bust The Greensboro Police Department on Monday warned of an apparent increase in attempts by overseas con artists to scam elderly Greensboro residents. The Department indicated that the scammers were doing this through deceptive mailings and phone calls about winning foreign sweepstakes and lottery contests. The Department stated to the Greensboro News and Record that most of the scams appeared to originate in Canada. Two days later, Canadian and U.S. authorities announced the take-down of a large Montreal-based fraud ring that employed such scams to victimize as many as 500 persons per week, most of them U.S. citizens. They reported further that the fraud ring took in $8 to $13 million a year by convincing victims that they needed to wire $1,500 to $60,000 overseas to cover taxes, customs duties, insurance premiums and other fees associated with a prize before it could be delivered. In announcing the Montreal take-down, the Director of Investigations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Marcy Forman, stated, “These fraudulent telemarketers prey on some of our most vulnerable citizens, often victimizing them repeatedly until their savings are depleted.” Fraud rings that employ similar tactics continue to target U.S. seniors and others from several locations overseas. ******End of Alert****** December 27, 2006 |
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NC Senior Consumer Fraud Task Force View Alerts:
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