Benefield: Windsor woman, 94, working to protect seniors from scams

Elizabeth Gaona was not fooled.

The 94-year-old retired critical care nurse didn’t believe for a minute that the check for more than $10,000 written to her from “Swiss Lotto” was real. Nor did she believe that, per the letter that accompanied the check, she would be receiving $1.6 million more.

“It’s disgusting,” she said. “I recognized it as a scam right away.”

But others are not so lucky.

Elder fraud in the U.S. increased 84% from 2021 to 2022, according to the FBI.

The same report found that monetary losses from those schemes went up more than 300% year over year, topping more than $3.1 billion.

Other estimates say those losses are likely far higher — in large part because people caught up in scams are sometimes too embarrassed to admit having been taken.

So many cons go unreported.

But the damage is real.

“Older adults have accumulated more money over the course of their lifetime. They have more assets to lose,” said Deborah Royster, assistant director in the office of older Americans with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “And they have less of an opportunity to recover funds.”

And the pandemic proved fertile breeding ground for scam artists.

“There were certainly increases in fraud during the pandemic,” Royster said. “Scammers took advantage of the pandemic and the fact that many of us were confined to our home, using technology more, using computers, isolated, not in touch with loved ones or other trusted individuals that we might talk to about scams.”

Gaona, who lives in Windsor, didn’t fall for the fake lottery letter. And she didn’t deposit the check.

What she did, and what she continues to do by sharing her story and images of the scam letter and phony check, is try to help others avoid being ripped off.

“In this day and age, I realize that so much scamming is going on,” she said.

And the fake lottery winnings trick is a popular one.

And it typically works like this: Fraudsters send a letter announcing massive amounts of winnings. With it, they send a check for a smaller, although still significant, amount to help the “winner” cover “taxes” or “processing.”

The scammed person will deposit the check, then, when there are not funds to cover the lottery company’s demands, the person will be pressured into making good on the payment out of their personal funds, perhaps still believing that a windfall awaits them.

“Usually someone will tell you that you won a lottery or prize but then say that to claim a prize you need to pay a fee for customs or taxes or fees,” Royster said.

That’s how it played out with Gaona’s “winnings.”

With the letter in hand, I called “Michael King, International Claims Agent” from the New York office of the Swiss Lotto to see how the charade would unfold.

First my call went to voicemail. I hung up and didn’t leave a message.

Ten minutes later, my phone rang. Caller identification said “Name Unavailable” and it was a different number. The call wasn’t from New York, it was from Toronto.

The caller identified himself as “Michael King,” matching the name on the letter, and said he apologized, saying he was on the other line when I first called.

I gave my first name and said I was calling on behalf of Gaona.

He kept asking if she was there with me. I told him she was not.

He asked me for the “claim number” written on the letter. I read it to him.

I said I was calling to find out how to proceed.

“Basically, she’s the winner of $1.6 million,” he said.

Would she prefer it in one lump sum or installments of $500,000, he asked.

I told him I’d need to ask her.

I told him Gaona didn’t recall entering any contests or seeing anything about the Swiss Lotto in any of her financial dealings.

He said Gaona had been automatically entered in the lottery from credit card purchases, and that’s probably why she didn’t recall giving any information to a lottery.

“She didn’t enter, she was selected through credit cards,” he said. “Her name was selected.”

“The check is to assure her she has nothing to lose,” he added. “That check is to cover the processing, the shipping and handling fees, for the remaining amount.”

I asked what kind of shipping and handling fees there might be.

He didn’t really answer, saying only that it would “assist her.”

He proceeded to ask about publicity. Would Gaona like to be filmed and interviewed?

“If she wanted any publicity and camera crew, it costs quite a bit to get that,” he said.

Again, I said I’d have to ask.

“Meantime, you can also encourage her to deposit the check that she has. Have her deposit the check,” he said.

He was adamant.

I said I would talk to Gaona and be in touch. He told me to call him the following day.

We were on the phone approximately 10 minutes.

While Gaona said she never for a minute believed she had won the Swiss Lotto, we both agreed: The check looks and feels real.

It’s on heavier paper than the letter. There are green inks and shades. It looks like the real deal.

But the letter is the giveaway.

The “stamp” of government approval spells approval incorrectly. So too, is “claims” and “newspapers.”

There are out of place letters and words printed in bold. There are weird capitalizations. And punctuation mistakes: “Closed public holiday’s.”

“This is the first really scammy letter like that,” she said. “A friend of mine read it and said ‘Look at this, it’s misspelled.’”

Just that conversation helps quash scams before they start, Royster said.

People bouncing things off each other, saying “Hey this happened to me,” with no shame or fear, can prevent the next con from claiming a victim, she said.

And shame is a common feeling in the wake of being tricked, Royster said. And it helps perpetuate scammers’ power.

“A lot of us feel shamed, we feel we should have known better,” she said.

But cons are pros.

Gaona recalled a time, years ago, when she attended a luncheon in Santa Rosa on scams that target seniors.

She remembers tips she took note of, including never to give a credit card number to someone calling you. Only give a number if you have called the business or agency.

With a knowing chuckle, Gaona remembered that the day after that luncheon, she got a call. It was from someone saying her garbage collection bill hadn’t been paid.

She gave the man her credit card number.

“I had completely forgotten and gave my card out in an instant,” she said. “I thought I was pretty quick witted and it happened to me.”

But this story ends well.

Turns out the caller was legit and she did need to pay her annual fee. But more than that, it drove home how easily a phone conversation can separate you from key financial information.

Other scams are no brainers.

Gaona has gotten the “Grandma? Is that you?” phone call from someone posing as her grandson.

“That was very recent,” she said. “The minute I asked who it was they said to me, ‘What? You have to ask?’ The minute they said that, I zeroed in on my grandson and I know he wouldn’t do that. I hung up.”

Bravo, Royster said.

She urged vigilance in the face of potential scams. And somewhat unfortunately, a fair dose of skepticism.

“Assume it’s fraudulent until it’s proven otherwise,” she said.

Even if it sounds legit, don’t let anyone rush you into any move before you have talked it over with someone you trust, she said.

In addition to the phony lottery winnings and callers posing as loved ones in trouble and needing emergency money, other scams include scammers sending people money and asking the recipient to send a portion of it to someone else.

That’s usually money laundering, she said.

“Do not agree to send or receive money or packages for anyone you don’t know or haven’t met in person,” Royster said.

Wire transfers and gift cards? Say no, she said.

“Take your time, talk to someone you trust,” she said. “I always say ‘Be suspicious.’”

And keep talking to each other.

“Knowing about scams is critically important,” Royster said. “Studies show that if you know about a scam you are far less likely to lose money. So talking about scams is important because you may know about types of scams but others may not.”

Gaona is a believer in that.

That’s why she’s sharing her story and the phony letter.

“I thought, ‘Golly, if we don’t help each other, we could all fall for it,’” she said.

Knowledge is power. So is teamwork.

You can reach Staff Columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @benefield.