"They sounded so serious and truthful:" Man caught up in foreign lottery scheme is warning others

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A convincing phone call leaves a man in debt in a scam that targets the elderly.

"I grew up in a time when you could believe people, and they sounded so serious and truthful. It really had me going," Ray Gibbs said.

Gibbs received a phone call informing him he was the winner of $250,000 and a new Mercedes.

"I needed to send them some money to ensure the check got here okay, and so I did that," Gibbs said.

Once he sent the money, there were more phone calls asking for more money -- and they kept coming.


"These schemes and these fraudsters are very prolific. They don`t stop, and once you get on one of these lists you`re going to continue to receive these solicitations," U.S. Postal Inspector Joe Stephenson said.

"I would get a stack every day. It was horrible what was going on," Gibbs said.

Postal inspectors estimate Gibbs lost $12,000 in the foreign lottery scheme, but he did have one stroke of luck. Astute post office employees called postal inspectors when they saw Gibbs came in again with a package. The package was intercepted and $5,000 was returned to Gibbs.

"It was very gratifying to return that money to him. You know, he didn`t have that type of money. This was his retirement savings," Stephenson said.

"I chock that up to a lesson learned, and move on, and never let that happen to me again," Gibbs said.

Gibbs says he has some simple advice for others.

"When they get a call saying they won something -- hang up the phone because it`s nothing but a big scam," Gibbs said.

No legitimate lottery will ask you for money up front, so keep that in mind when you receive calls and letters in the mail.