Crime & Safety

Elderly Darien Woman Scammed out of $13,000

A 79-year-old Darien woman lost $13,000 after she was told she'd won $85,000.

When a caller told a 79-year-old Darien woman that she'd won an $850,000 prize on Dec. 30, it was certainly an important day in her life -- but not a good one, unfortunately.

Darien police gave this account of how they say the woman was scammed out of $13,000, based on statements the woman gave police:

The caller, who said his name is John Anderson, told her that he worked for UPS and, because she was a senior citizen who paid her utility bills on time over the years, had won the big cash prize.

He called her from phone number 915-239-3517, Darien police said. (A call by Darien Patch to that number got an answering machine which said, "Thank you for calling International Global Sweepstakes" and invited the caller to leave a message.)

A Darien police news release stated:

"The caller told the victim that in order to receive the prize money, she needed to transfer money to him in the form of Green Dot Money Pack cards.  These cards are commonly used to reload money to prepaid credit cards. 

"The victim stated that she had purchased 26 Green Dot Money Packs at five hundred dollars each, and gave the caller information on the card which allowed the caller access to the money."

At that point, the money was lost. The woman's daughter told police about the incident on Dec. 31, and police officers went to the elderly woman’s home to get further information. Police detectives are continuing to investigate the matter.


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