SHORELINE — Shoreline Police want residents to be wary of a Canadian phone scam that is targeting elderly residents in Shoreline.
According to a police report, an elderly Shoreline woman said she purchased an entry in United Sweepstakes America in January for $9.95.
On March 16 a man called her and told her she had won $250,000 but that he would need $2,550 to process the funds through Canadian customs. The woman wired him the money to Quebec, Canada. Two days later, she was contacted a second time by the man saying he needed $3,400 to process her winnings.
On March 20 she contacted police, and while the police were at her house taking down the report, another man called, stating he was from Canadian Customs and would need $1,750 to process the winnings through customs. Police spoke to the caller, who would not answer questions about what customs office he works out or who his supervisor was, and hung up on police.
In a second incident, police reports say a different elderly Shoreline woman received a phone call March 11 from a man who told her he was calling from Quebec, and that a courier would come in the next day with two checks for $125,000 each and that the courier would go with her to the bank to cash them.
She told the man she was hard of hearing and for him to call back to record the message on the answering machine, then called police. The man did not call back.
Police warn, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
“You should never pay money to get money,” said Deputy L.D. Obstler with Shoreline Police.
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