by Chris Fuller
Thu Aug 12, 2010 11:37 am
From: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/ ... man_m.html
For further information about lottery scams, see:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3227
Scammer tells Syracuse woman: Meet demands or I'll burn your house
Douglass Dowty / The Post-Standard
An 81-year-old Syracuse woman alerted police after being targeted by phone scammers who know her address and threatened to burn down her house if she didn’t follow their instructions, according to Bill Martin, the woman’s son.
Last week, the woman received a call saying she’d won $5,000 in the lottery. Knowing it was a scam, she hung up.
Thirty seconds later, the man with a foreign accent called back and threatened to burn down her house and sexually assault her if she didn’t let him come to her house to drop off a check, Martin said.
Police said they’ve received numerous complaints in the past month about nearly identical scams. The scammer demands money from the victim in exchange for a promise of money in the future — money that doesn’t exist.
The scammer has made about 15 harassing phone calls to Martin’s family in the past three months, he said. When his mother asked the scammer how he’d found her, the scammer read her Fairfield Avenue address back over the phone.
About a month ago, Martin, of Cicero, was visiting his mother when the scammer called.
Martin said he answered and confronted the caller. During a heated five-minute exchange, Martin said, the man threatened to shoot his entire family and burn down their house.
Fed up and scared for his family’s safety, Martin had his mother file a complaint with the Syracuse police Friday. He provided a copy of the report to The Post-Standard.
His mother, who asked not to be identified because she fears for her safety, said the caller used “filthy” language that she would not repeat. Her son said that included death threats and explicit descriptions of sexual abuse.
Officer Jeff Beauchine noted that police are investigating numerous complaints over the past month regarding similar scams. Martin said he also alerted the FBI.
For further information about lottery scams, see:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3227
