Son helps mother get out of foreign lottery scam mess

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- It started with one piece of mail promising a fortune, but by the time the scam was over, the victim was practically penniless.

"They send letter. You won a million dollars please send back the letter and $50," Enda Dejar said.

Dejar was told she won millions of dollars in foreign lottery letters, but after sending more than $10,000 over a year...

"No, they send nothing. All they do is ask again, ask again, ask again," Dejar said.

The 87-year-old would have continued sending money, had the bank not called her son.

Carlos Dejar learned the lottery scam had left his mother with practically nothing. She thought she was paying the taxes and fees on the prizes she won.

"She probably started with two or three that were different and then those three turned into 30, those 30 turned into 300, and the 300 turned into an unimaginable amount of things. She would be in the house opening mail for hours and hours," Dejar's son, Carlos said.

Sometimes, Dejar was sent small trinkets, leading her to believe the promised winnings were real.

"It`s just garbage. It`s something you would get in a swamp meet for $20," Carlos Dejar said.

When Carlos told his mother it was all a scam, she didn't believe him.

"She threw a fit. She was absolutely not talking to me for days. She was very nervous and very angry with me," Carlos Dejar said.

Carlos says the con artists not only bombarded his mother with mail, but also started calling him.

"There are a lot of people who are elderly that have no one that they can rely on. That what these sweepstakes people are relying on," Carlos Dejar said.

Postal inspectors say consumers need to keep this in mind.

"By talking to them. Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school? While they are on the phone they are Google-ing that area and pretending they grew up in the same area.  Any legitimate lottery --  if you win, will take the taxes and fees out after you get the money. They don`t ask for it up front. There is no advanced fee you have to pay," Postal Inspector Ricky Vida said.

Carlos Dejar says he wants others to learn from what happened to his mother.

"Understand where the money is going, know their finances. Get tight with them," Carlos Dejar said.

FOX6's Contact 6 says you only have to remember one thing -- never pay money to win money. If they say you have to, tell them to take it out of your winnings and send you the rest.