Heartbreak: Lottery scam led to NJ grandmother's suicide

Comment #24

KY Floyd — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:38:13 GMT

There are already penaties for fraud. The problem is catching the people who are committing the fraud. Some of them are stupid, but it's not easy to catch the smarter ones. Smart people are often ahead of others in new endeavors and some of the smart criminals will always be ahead of the people trying to stop them. At the opposite end, there will always be people falling for the newest (and sometimes the very old) scams.

The technology to scan emails is readily available, but if you think tha... [ More ]

Comment #23

KyMystikal — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:13:28 GMT

This reminds me of this scam several people tried to run on me on Postaroo.com. I was selling a riding lawn mower and someone answered the ad stating that they were from the US but out of the country on business. They wanted to know if it was ok to send a postal money order for the lawn mower for $2300 which I was selling for $350. I was told to cash the money order and a amount for shipping the lawnmower, which I have forgot exactly what it was but it was around $1,500, was to be put on a mon... [ More ]

Comment #22

LckyLary — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:48:23 GMT

Possible remedies:

A severe penalty for sending such a letter or e-mail. That is, the person who is told they won should immediately be able to sue for that amount, either the sender or the country of origin. At least make the penalties more severe than the penalty for illegally downloading music. If someone is targeted who is elderly or unable to understand the situation that should be even more severe!

Mail servers should be able to detect incoming mail mentioning winning Lottery pri... [ More ]

Comment #21

time*treat — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:47:09 GMT

Some of those people, arguably, started out feeble-minded... although it does explain why some world leaders are making such clever(Not!) decisions these days.

Anyway, something about this story doesn't set right with me.

She's gonna get scammed out of a quarter mil, chasing only 2.5 mil?

She's keeping these detailed records, and not telling any of the kids what's going on during the entire episode

Comment #20

csfb — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 09:21:31 GMT

I'm sure this woman was more alert at 62 than at 72. Barbara Walters, et al, the same way. It's the natural course of life. Aging, it's called. We will all get there in our own time and pace.

Comment #19

justxploring — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:36:48 GMT

I would agree with you, but she was only 72 years old! That isn't old by today's standards. Except for those unfortunate individuals who are afflicted with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, the mind is usually the last thing to go. Many great artists are creating brilliant works at 80. As you probably know, Normal Mailer died last week at age 84. He completed a novel last year. A really silly show with Charlie Sheen called 2-1/2 Men has Robert Wagner (age 77) as an occasional guest. He's s... [ More ]

Comment #18

grengrad — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:39:30 GMT

I know someone that has won two fairly large online contests.

What happens when you really win is they call you.

They say, is this Mr. So and So?

When you say yes, they say, Mr. So and So, you have won $XX,XXX from the such and such contest

We have your name and address as Such and Such is this correct?

When my friend replied, So is this kind of scam where I have to send you money first? They replied, No Mr. So and So, a when you win a real contest you are never asked to... [ More ]

Comment #17

rsb2323 — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:19:10 GMT

Here is a scam e-mail I received today. This is why so many people fall for this crap. These people should be shot!!!

PLEASE HELP ME, FOR GOD SAKE

From:COLLINS IKPOMWONSA (fauxpas@singnet.com.sg)

Sent:Wed 11/14/07 8:24 AM

Reply-to:williams_spencer04@hotmail.co.uk

To: collinsikpomwonsa@hotmail.com

Dear Sir/Madam,

It is obvious that this mail will come to

you as a surprise. This is Because we have

not met before but I am

sending you this email

Comment #16

mrichardson$ — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 13:23:27 GMT

Some people just don`t care what they do to other people. They only care about money

Comment #15

csfb — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:40:37 GMT

I'm so sorry for the woman. She must have been so depressed after the stark realization she had lost her lifetime savings.

The elderly become feeble-minded as they get older. That is why they are easy prey to the con artist.

We should revere our elderly, instead of victimizing them.

I hope the people that did this to her will suffer for a very long long time and die violent deaths.

Comment #14

BobP — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 06:37:51 GMT

The best advice is not to open contact with criminals no matter how savy you think you are. Yes the person at the other end of the email is often a teenager, but they are working for real criminals who think nothing of doing you in. To them you are nothing more then cash cows to be milked. No words you type are going to cause them the least concern no matter how dirty or threatening, they will laugh and move on to the next potential sucker forging your email address as the sender.

The wom... [ More ]

Comment #13

LottoAce — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:39:05 GMT

Corrections...

7 days later he goes to draw out 20 bucks from his banks atm machine so we could go fishing.

we weren't fishing at his banks atm...LOL

unless you were a stock annalyist, CPA, finacial planner, with a buisiness degree, you wouldn't invest your retirement into a company without seeking an experts advice? most of these people wouldn't either. why should you? even if you were such an expert yourself, I would hope you would have the wisdom to at least check the company ou... [ More ]

Comment #12

LottoAce — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:21:05 GMT

Believe it or not, I have a really good friend that I work, and fish with that fell for a very similiar scam.

His wife was supposibly playing some internet lottery. (I'll get back to that one) they recieved (from Candada) a check in the mail for 5800 dollars, along with a letter stating that he had to pay 1800 dollars in processing fees. His first instinct was, its a scam. but his wife conviced him that it was probably from the website she had been visiting and that it was legitimate. He went... [ More ]

Comment #11

duckman — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:55:19 GMT

Very sad story indeed.

Unfortunately, the email weasles out there are conning people out of money every minute of every day.

If everyone would follow simple rules such as those below, the email weasles would go away:

1. Assume ALL unsolicited emails are SCAMS. Period.

2. Never click on a link in any email you receive.

3. If something is "free" then it should cost ZERO. NOTHING. No bank account or credit card information should ever be required. Bogus claims such as "we just need y... [ More ]

Comment #10

JackpotWanna — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:38:39 GMT

I want to cry. This story is so sad. My heart goes out to the family.

Comment #9

rsb2323 — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:53:48 GMT

Wow.

I can't agree with you more.

I've been there too.

Comment #8

justxploring — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:37:11 GMT

I agree with all of you. How can anyone believe she won $2.5 million from another country and send money? But it happens all the time.

It was probably the humiliation that killed her. We will also never know what her family said to her. I deleted my comment yesterday because I sounded so judgmental. I understand what it's like to lose so much (your home, money, health) and starting all over at age 72 can't be easy. She must have been overwhelmed with shame and embarrassment.

Howev... [ More ]

Comment #7

Stack47 — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:51:51 GMT

There are probably 50 people for every 1 person we read about getting scammed because they are embarrassed. Other than filling a report and warning others, there is little or nothing their Police Department can do.

Comment #6

rsb2323 — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:46:24 GMT

You are so right. I hate to say it but that is what happened to this dear woman, human greed.

It's funny but right after I left here, I checked my e-mail and yep, I'd received yet another of those LUCKY WINNER scams. The guy that sent it had the nerve to have the name, Barrister Dan Jacker.

Comment #5

orangeman — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:49:24 GMT

If this happens to you, have some fun with them. Tell them to send YOU money to assure they are open and above board. Salesmen cannot handle partial agreement. It drives them insane. Human greed nails people every time.

Orangeman

Comment #4

rsb2323 — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:04:23 GMT

Her daughter says she wasn't a gullible woman. It doesn't sound like she was with her education and background. Those that do not sympathize with this story must consider this, I have received hundreds, literally hundreds of e-mails from these scammers and they make me laugh uproarously every time. Their wording is amazing. They actually make you think you've won.

Adding insult to injury, I decided to take a few of the most persitent ones for a ride myself and act as though I'd taken th... [ More ]

Comment #3

Big Hitter — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:41:18 GMT

A curse on all the Jamacian scammers and their families. They deserve to boil in oil, every last one of them. With the amount of corruption in the government on that island, it will be a wonder if any of those s***bags are caught.

Comment #2

s5thomps — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:55:42 GMT

I have to agree with your comments Coin Toss. You should never have to send money to claim a prize. It amazes me how people can fall these scams. She would have been better of going to a lottery retailer and purchasing a ticket. Chances are she would not have won, but at least you know they are legitimate.

Comment #1

Coin Toss — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 07:14:45 GMT

This is really a sad story, and confusing one.

You're not talking about a gullible person, said her daughter JoAnn Trivisonno, of Virginia. You're taking about a fearless woman. If this could happen to her, it could happen to anyone.

Mowle, a college graduate who raised three children as a single working parent, received the first letter promising a $2.5 million jackpot in October 2006. To collect, she had to pay $18,000 in fees, which Mowle sent. From there, the scam spiraled out of... [ More ]

Heartbreak: Lottery scam led to NJ grandmother's suicide

Lottery Post — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 04:16:52 GMT

A Jamaica-based lottery scam promising a $2.5 million windfall cost Ann Mowle her entire life savings of $248,000 before the 72-year-old grandmother from Monroe decided she had enough.

Mowle donated her clothes to charity, left her beloved toy poodle Molly at a dog groomers and drove to Spring Lake on Oct. 31. A pair of fishermen found her body on the edge of a jetty at the Worthington Avenue beach the next day. Investigators determined Mowle's death was a suicide.

Mowle's family blames... [ More ]