Elderly NK Woman Loses $107,050 in Lottery Scam

An 83-year-old North Kingstown woman was scammed out of more than $100,000 after she was tricked into believing she had won $2.5 million from Publisher’s Clearing House and had to wire tax payments to get her winnings.

Police said the victim reported the crime on Sept. 11 and said she had been deprived a total of $107,050 as a result of the scam.

It all started on July 20 or 21, she said, when she got a call from a man who identified himself as Michel Deborda. He called from a number with a 202 area code, police said, and he claimed that he worked for Publisher’s Clearing House and that she had won $2.5 million.

He said that she would have to pay the taxes on the prize before it could be delivered.

The victim then began wiring money to a bank in Costa Rica to pay for the taxes. Over the next month, the man called her frequently, police said, “each time requesting more money to be sent to cover the taxes,” a police report stated.

A total of 6 transfers were sent to Banco Nacional De Costa Rica between July 22 and Aug. 15, ranging from $13,650 to $25,000.

Police are investigating.