Attorney General's News Release

October 15, 2003

Alert bank officials in Senath foil Canadian scheme to defraud Bootheel woman

Jefferson City, Mo. — A scheme to defraud an elderly woman from the Bootheel was foiled last week when officials at her bank convinced her not to send $2,300 to Canada to claim a supposed $100,000 prize. Attorney General Jay Nixon, whose office was contacted by the president of the Senath State Bank about the scam, said elderly Missourians often are the targets of sweepstakes and lottery scams from Canada and other countries.

The scam artists, who identified themselves as Danny Sullivan and Susan Dawson, contacted the woman by telephone and told her she had won two $50,000 checks from North American and European Awards. Sullivan and Dawson told the woman the checks were being sent to her, but were held up in customs.

In order to have the money released, the woman was instructed to send $2,300 via money gram to a Canadian address. The woman was instructed not to tell anyone about the call, as the checks were to delivered to her by a Brinks truck, and they did not want the driver to be in unnecessary danger.

After the woman called her bank and told officials there about the call, the bank president called the telephone number the scam artists gave to the woman — supposedly for the Canadian Beneficial Credit Union Bank — so she could verify the checks were authentic. Dawson, one of the scam artists who had just spoken to the woman, answered. Dawson refused to provide an address for the credit union to the bank president.

“Fortunately, this woman had suspicions this was a scam, and the people at the bank helped confirm that for her,” Nixon says. “Other Missourians aren't so lucky and lose thousands of dollars to these sweepstakes and lottery scams.”

Such scams often involve the promise of large cash prizes upon payment of “fees” or “taxes” in advance, Nixon says. The scam artists almost always ask that the money from the consumer be wired to them, making it impossible to stop payment when the scheme is discovered.

Consumers who are notified they have won large prizes in a foreign lottery or contest are encouraged to report that information to their local law enforcement, or to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-392-8222.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818