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Scam targeting seniors

JANESVILLE — Week after week, senior citizens come to the service center at Logli Supermarket to wire money for what they think are legitimate reasons.

But service center manager Tia Sorrells is afraid they're being scammed.

"They want to send money, but it's going to someone they don't know," she said. "We always ask if they know whom they're sending it to."

Some recent examples include:

-- An older man received a phone call that his cousin in Iraq needed money. He was told to wire $150 to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

-- An older man received a phone call that he'd won $33,000 in a lottery. He was told to wire $150 to Montego Bay, Jamaica, to cover the taxes.

Sorrells said the service center at Logli, which offers money transfer services through Western Union, regularly receives alerts about such scams.

"So we know what to look for," she said. "But there's not necessarily much you can do until someone approaches you and the situation seems odd," she said.

Glen Loyd, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, said some employees are "very good at looking after folks" when it comes to transactions conducted at grocery stores, department stores and convenience stores.

"But at other stores, they're not aware," he said.

Loyd said people who wire money directly through Western Union or MoneyGram are asked a series of questions about their transaction. But people who wire money at stores often aren't asked those questions.

"We talked to some store managers and they said, ‘We can't ask (customers) anything,'" he said, "which isn't really true."

Loyd said stores that provide money transfer services should be informed about potential scams.

"A lot of people might not know that somebody who comes in wanting to send money to a foreign country—that's a red flag," he said "And they can refuse to send it."

Loyd said money scams are pervasive.

A slightly different version targets grandparents, who receive phone calls from people claiming to be their grandchildren, he said. The supposed grandchild asks his or her grandparents to wire money because he or she is in trouble and not to tell his or her parents.

Loyd said a Dane County grandfather twice wired money to a foreign country and now is out $19,000.

He said consumers, too, should be aware of potential scams.

"If you're asked to send money to a foreign country … the red flag should be waving," Loyd said.

SUSPECT A SCAM?

If you suspect you're being scammed, call the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection at 1-800-422-7128.

Money transfer agents, including those at grocery stores, department stores and convenience stores, interested in receiving scam alerts also can call the toll-free number.