On Thursday we shared the great story of how an Olean police officer had gone above and beyond to secure nearly $10,000 in cash an elderly man had put in the mail to supposedly bail a grandson out of jail.
The local resident, unfortunately, had fallen victim to a heartless scam, the kind of which we have reported on before.
Ron Filjones of Allegany, having read Thursday’s State & Union, called us Friday to report someone tried the same scam on him.
“A person called me, saying he was my grandson,” Ron tells us. “He said he had broken his nose in an accident and that he was in jail for DWI and needed money for a bail bond.
“So, I said to him, ‘Can you answer this one question? What is your sister’s name?’ He just kind of paused ... and then I heard, ‘click.’ He was gone.”
Ron called us because he wanted readers to be aware that the same scam was being perpetrated on other area residents.
Meanwhile, later Friday, Jose Sanchez stopped in the Times Herald newsroom to show us a copy of a piece of scam mail his mother-in-law, a Knapp Creek resident, had received. It was a purported notice from the “Euromillones Lottery Sweepstakes Program” via Madrid, Spain that the recipient was the certified winner of $4.95 million.
“Your winning prize is now deposited with a reliable bank here in Madrid ... and insured under your name and claim file,” the notice reads. “To begin your lottery claim, please contact your assigned English speaking claim agent. ... You are expected to be in our Madrid, Spain office to sign your winning processing certificate or you may pay for one of our processing delivery options.”
Of course, the option involves giving out one’s bank information — which would lead to the cleaning out of one’s account.
