Bridgeport resident Sally Searcy, 70, told the Herald last Friday that she has started receiving phone calls again from Kingston, Jamaica, claiming to have a prize for her worth millions - if only she'll send them some of her money first.
Searcy, who has already added her number to the National Do Not Call Registry, said she was advised by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office to start screening her calls. She also called her phone company, hoping to put an international call block on her phone.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing last week to discuss the scams and pressured the Department of Justice to extradite the scam artists.
According to the FTC, the scammers could be bilking Americans - primarily the elderly - out of $1 billion per year.
A U.S.-led task force created four years ago has initiated 450 investigations in Jamaica, resulting in 149 arrests and only six convictions. To date, no Jamaicans associated with the lottery schemes have been brought to the U.S. for prosecution.
Former Gov. Gardner dies
Booth Gardner, Washington's 19th governor, died March 15 of complications from Parkinson's disease. He was 76.
A memorial service will be held March 30 at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma.
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