GALVESTON — Most lottery tickets cost a dollar, but police warn of crooks using claims of winning tickets to bilk senior citizens out of thousands.
Police detective Jason Chide said at least three people were involved in a traveling fraud case in which one of the crooks would claim to have a winning ticket.
“They’re mainly targeting elderly Hispanic men and women,” Chide said.
On Friday, two women approached an island woman and asked for a ride to a 61st Street store. While en route, one of the pair used a cell phone to call what she claimed was a number on the back of her lottery ticket.
She hit the speaker button, allowing the driver to hear the other end of the conversation, in which the caller was told she was holding a ticket worth $38 million.
The voice on the phone then said that the ticket-holder would have to provide a valid driver’s license and $25,000, ostensibly to cover taxes.
The two women convinced their new acquaintance to withdraw $5,000 from her bank, with a promise to share winnings with her.
They then convinced her to take them to a grocery store on 61st Street to buy stamps. The women went into the store, and their victim never saw them, or her $5,000, again.
Chide said people should be wary of any lottery claim that requires a deposit. The Texas Lottery Commission does not require the holder of a winning ticket to put up money in order to collect winnings.
Police Lt. Joe Peña said people should also be incredulous of offers that sound to good to be true.
“Think about it,” he said. “If you had a $38 million ticket, would you go tell a stranger about it? I wouldn’t even tell my friends.”
The culprits in the case were both described as Mexican or Mexican-American women. One was 6-foot-2, the other 5-foot-2. Each woman reportedly weighed about 150 pounds.
Chide asked that anyone who saw the women or had information about the scam call him at (409) 797-3772.
