BRONSON, MI (WTVB) – While the Branch County Sheriff’s Department this week was able to intervene and save an elderly Bronson area woman from losing $17,000 in a telephone scam, it appears another county woman may be out as much as $30,000 in a similar scam.
According to Sheriff’s Department Detective Dan Nichols, the Bronson woman had been notified on the telephone that she had won $5 million in a foreign lottery. When a deputy arrived at her home Thursday, he found a $6,000 payment destined for the scam lottery company in her mailbox. Another payment of $6,000 was intercepted at the post office, and the woman’s bank was able to stop payment on another $5,000 that was sent to the company.
Detective Nichols says the woman who lost $30,000 in the scam was promised a $40 million dollar payment. He believes the money she sent is not recoverable, and says the woman still believes she will win the lottery money.
Nichols says telephone scams preying on the elderly is an ongoing problem, and says anyone who receives a suspicious call should contact the Sheriff’s Department at (517)278-2325.
