Englishtown resident Douglas Lallier is sorry.
His mom died, and
he tells James the con man over the telephone, so he wasn't able to make the trip to Western Union to send the $3,400 he promised.
"I just got done with everything. We buried her yesterday so I can get the money out as soon as you want," Lallier said. "God bless you. I know God has a wonderful place for you. I'll get them out tomorrow."
Scamming scammers. Welcome to Lallier's own version of stress relief.
Of course, Lallier has never sent a dime and uses a made-up name with the con artists to shield his identity. He receives several scam letters, emails, or phone calls a week.
Bring them on.
'Trying to get even
"I'm angry at them because of all the people that actually believe that guy is legit," Lallier said. "I am trying to get even for all the people that he, excuse my language, screwed over."
Press on Your Side met Lallier after he shared a recent letter he received with some good news: He had just won sweepstakes
organized for all customers of Walmart, Sears, "Home Depot" (sic), and Safeway.
"You are entitled to a guaranteed sum of $50,000.00 (in Certified check) which will be delivered to you by courier service, (FedEx or UPS.)," states the letter, signed with "Kind Regards" by Mr. Paul Bailey.
It came with a fake $4,450 check to "offset the statutory Non-Resident tax payment of $3,400." The letter instructed him to send installments of $1,700 each, using a Western Union money transfer, to an address in Dublin, Ireland.
So Lalllier plays along. He calls the telephone number on the letter and pretends to fall for it. Besides using a fake name, he makes up personal details and information. He'll give them phony money order numbers to keep them on the hook.
"I just picture the people there frantically searching for a money order that doesn't exist," Lallier said. "I want to waste as much time with him as I can."
Fraudsters have tried to hit him with all sorts of scams.
For instance, someone sent him a fake U.S. Postal Service money order for $2,000, asking him to deposit it and wire $1,700 through Western Union at Walmart the next day. It's called a secret shopper scam. (The only money sent in this scam is your own.)
"I called the guy back two days later and I told him the money order got destroyed in the snow and that I needed another," Lallier said. "The guy told me I had to be more careful."
But the scammer doubled down, and sent him two postal orders, asking him to wire money from two Walmarts this time. "I guess he thought he had a real sucker on the line,' Lallier said.
The con artist called him three days later to see if he had done it. " 'I tried but the banks said the money orders weren't real,' and he hung up," Lallier said.
Lallier turned the counterfeit money orders into a U.S. postal inspector.
'It's fun'
Recently, Lallier received an email from someone who had heard he had been "taken advantage of by unscrupulous people overseas," he said. The scammer offered to help him recover what he had lost.
"It's fun," he said. "It's stress relief."
He does take some care. Lallier never clicks on links in emails or downloads attachments, which can fill his computer with spyware and viruses.
These sweepstakes scams, like the one Lallier received, are serious business. The criminals, located overseas, often target the elderly who may believe they have just won some money. It can drain them of their life savings.
"The only thing you are guaranteed is you are going to lose money," said Robert Meyers, a U.S. postal inspector in Hamilton. "None of these things are going to pay anybody any money."
But it can be hard to convince some people that these sweepstakes and lottery letters are scams. "You are standing right there and telling them flat out you're losing your money, you are not going to win anything," Meyers said. "They don't care, they continue to send these people money."
'Suckers list'
And once they send money, scammers put them on a "suckers list." "Before you know it, they're inundated with either mail, emails, telephone calls, and so forth," Meyers said. "I've encountered numerous elderly victims who just have a house full of lottery mail."
So let's make it clear. If you receive a letter in the mail saying that you just won a big jackpot, even if it purports to be from Publishers Clearing House, it's a scam. "If they are asking you for any money upfront, and before there are any winnings or anything like that, right there is a telltale sign that it's a scam," Meyers said. (Publishers Clearing House shows up at your door if you win a big prize.)
The inspector recommends that people just throw out the letters. You can also give them back to the letter carrier or call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455.
"The only way you are going to win anything is if you walk into a convenience store and give them a dollar, two dollars, and play a state-sponsored lottery," Meyers said.
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