Granite Falls woman’s offer ‘sounded so real, I thought I really won it’

Edie George, 80, of Granite Falls was dumbfounded when she received a notice in the mail saying she had won $4 million. She’d never been that lucky before.

She sent the notice back with $20 for “processing.”

It was early December. Nothing happened for a few days. Then, all of a sudden, her mailbox was deluged with official-looking winning claim forms and certificates, many from Las Vegas.

Her luck appeared to be changing.

She sent off $20 more, for processing, to another notice saying she had won a big cash prize.

Thoughts of a nice long cruise and leaving money to her children danced through her head – for a while.

Now she realizes she was being conned.

The offers she sent money to “sounded so real,” she said. “I thought I really won it.”

Most victims of the international lottery scam are elderly, who fall for the pitch they see as unexpected windfall late in life. They are persuaded to send their own money off to neighborly voices on the other end of the phone.

Con artists frequently tell their victims they have won the Canadian lottery, using Americans’ familiarity with their northern neighbors to help dampen their prey’s common sense.

Victims are instructed to not tell anyone of their winnings until the money is in their account. Some who suspect they have been taken often are embarrassed to tell what has happened. Others keep hoping to reclaim their money, or part of the prize, and send good money after bad.

The telephone call appeared to be the answer to a lifelong dream for Ross McDowell of the Portland, Ore., area. He struck it rich by winning the lottery – a $2.7 million prize, he was told.

As in George’s case, it was overwhelming news.

“Here I am, an old guy, and I won’t have to worry about my finances anymore,” he thought.

What he didn’t know was the voice on the phone was luring him to financial ruin.

For more than two months, the caller’s repeated telephone calls succeeded in befriending him, massaging his ego and gaining so much of his confidence that McDowell, an intelligent man with all his wits about him, bit hard.

McDowell, 79, mailed $800 to a box in a private mail center in Vancouver, B.C. after being told he’d won the Australian lottery. The money was to pay for legal fees associated with transferring the money.

He was told to send the money to a lawyer at a room number and address on Main Street in Vancouver. The “room number” turned out to be a box at Midtown Mail Box Business Center, where it costs $10 a month Canadian to rent one.

What’s more, the man at the counter, when asked, is quick to assure that the mailboxes are set up with street addresses “so it can be completely anonymous.”

The “lottery official” later talked McDowell into sending off another $9,000 to the same address, supposedly to satisfy U.S. Customs and the IRS.

McDowell never figured he was sending a check to a mailbox.

“That makes me feel stupider than ever,” he said.

But McDowell is one of the lucky ones. Canadian Customs agents working with Project Emptor intercepted the check and returned his $9,000.

McDowell figures he initially put himself on the criminals’ radar by sending $17.95 off to something that purported to be the Australian lottery.

Fortunately, McDowell kept meticulous notes of his conversations with the woman who contacted him – information he passed on to Project Emptor, hopefully adding more pieces to the puzzle leading to prosecution.

In hindsight, McDowell was impressed at how hard the woman worked at getting him to send money.

She said she would deliver the money personally, promising to got out to dinner with McDowell and his wife once she got there. She asked if there was a nearby Holiday Inn, and always asked about the family and the weather.

“She said to put our trust in her because she has been working hard for us,” McDowell said. She frequently closed out conversations by saying, “We’re just like family, and God bless.”

He learned that the old adage is right.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” McDowell said. “You just can’t figure somebody’s going to pile a bunch of money in your lap for nothing.”

In suburban Los Angeles, an 86-year-old man mailed off $175,000 to various international lottery scams, including at least two separate mail drops in Vancouver. His daughter has been struggling for weeks to nail down details of where her father wired the money, and to convince him he hasn’t won a thing. But he has lost about half of his life savings. The woman asked that neither her father’s name nor hers be published.

“My worry is that other hucksters would get his name and hit him up for more,” she said.

She has since taken her father for medical evaluations. Doctors have told him that his decision-making skills are losing their edge and that he should listen to his daughter.

Now, at times, he’s perfectly rational. But “at certain moments he absolutely believes he’s won,” said the woman. “It’s heartbreak at every level.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

The Victorian home sits on Whidbey Island. (Alyse Young for The Washington Post)
Whidbey couple thought they found their dream home — then came the bats

The couple had no recourse after unknowingly buying a home infested with thousands of bats.

The Snohomish County Jail is pictured on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Report reveals cause of Everett man’s death in Snohomish County Jail

Terry Crusha was booked into the jail on May 17. He died three days later, part of a string of deaths there.

Boeing workers file into Angel of the Winds Arena to vote on the latest contract proposal from the company on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Boeing Machinists prepare to go back to work after strike ends

After voting no twice, 59% of union members approved the latest contract.

Twede’s Cafe is pictured at the corner of Bendigo Boulevard and North Bend Way on Sunday, June 9, 2024, in North Bend, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Relive ‘Twin Peaks’ with cherry pie and damn fine coffee at Twede’s Cafe

The North Bend cafe, known as Double R Diner on the campy cult-classic, serves up nostalgia and a damn good breakfast.

From left to right, Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay Evans and Lt. Serena Wileman. (Photos provided by the U.S. Navy)
Remains of Whidbey Island pilots to return this week

Lt. Cmdr Lyndsay Evans and Lt. Serena Wileman died in a crash on Oct. 15.

Everett
Everett men arrested in huge bust of Seattle drug ring

On Wednesday, investigators searched 31 locations, but suspects from Lynnwood and Edmonds remained at large, officials said.

Large logs flow quickly down the Snohomish River as the river reaches minor flood stage a hair over 25 feet following an overnight storm Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Rainy, gusty week to come in Snohomish County

The Snohomish River could reach the “action” flooding stage, but forecasters don’t expect any flooding here.

Police believe a driver fled a traffic stop and crashed into five people Saturday morning in Everett. (Photo provided by the Everett Police Department)
Police still working to identify driver in Everett crash that killed 3

A driver fleeing a traffic stop reportedly crashed into five people on the side of the road early Saturday.

"Missing from Fire Trail Road" tells the story of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis, who has been missing from Tulalip since November 2020. (FilmRise)
‘Missing from Fire Trail Road’ premieres in Tulalip

Authorities are still looking for clues on the November 2020 disappearance of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis.

Two couples walk along Hewitt Avenue around lunchtime on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett council votes to increase penalties for wage theft

The ordinance passed Wednesday makes it more difficult to earn city contracts after violating wage laws.

Police believe a driver fled a traffic stop and crashed into five people Saturday morning in Everett. (Photo provided by the Everett Police Department)
Police: Driver hit, killed 3 people after fleeing Everett traffic stop

Around 1 a.m. Saturday, a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy tried to pull over a driver on Airport Road, police said.

Vernon Streeter looks over the fence at the Skykomish Substation operated by Puget Sound Energy on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 in Skykomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Doesn’t make any sense’: Skykomish residents decry increased outages

Community members are frustrated about power outages and a lack of communication from Puget Sound Energy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.