Woman bilked out of $29K

Jim Thorpe Police said Thursday that a woman lost $29,000 and the department is warning residents of a scam that has targeted senior citizens.

Police said the 76-year-old resident was recently contacted by a company claiming to be “American Senior Citizen’s Lottery.”

The woman was told that she won the lottery even though she had not entered any lottery of sweepstakes.

The scammers claimed to have $50,000 in a briefcase, and the resident needed to pay an additional $21,000 on top of the $29,000 she had initially given.

She sent money for the prize via Western Union to several different states.

Police said the woman didn’t send the additional $21,000. Instead she called police.

The scammers are primarily using the names of “Mr. Banks,” and “Bill Newman” using the phone numbers 876-990-7248 and 702-706-7742.

Police reminded residents that this is a scam.

If there are any questions or concerns about phone calls, or a family member receives notification of winning money or a similar prize that they have not even registered for, they are encouraged to investigate the possibility of this being a legitimate prize or scam.

Police said this is the second scam that involved a significant loss of money.

In October, police said a 66-year-old resident lost $10,000 as part of a similar scam. She received a notice on Facebook messenger that she won a lottery.

Residents are encouraged to call the police department if they have any questions about a potential scam.

Residents may also call the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office Fraud tip line at 412-565-7680, or 717-787-5211.