INDIANAPOLIS — A lottery scam is making the rounds with Indiana ties and it’s costing victims thousands of dollars.
Here’s how the scam typically works. You get a phone call or text message claiming you’ve won the lottery even if you didn’t play.
The caller may say you have to pay taxes on your winnings, but it’s not real— it’s a ploy to get your personal information or your money.
Mary, 82, of Land O’Lakes Florida lost more than $40,000 to the scam which involved sending money to an Indianapolis address.
“They took advantage of somebody that was gullible,” said Mary.
Mary received a phone call from a man named Michael Baxter in Indianapolis.
He said he represented Mega Millions, a national lottery known for its huge jackpots.
“They told me they were coming to my home to present me with a check,” said Mary.
Stranger promised $8 million prize
She said he told her she won $8 million.
Mary said the man then asked her for her credit card information.
“They told me they were going to pay off both Sam’s Club and Truist, and they did. They paid them both off,” she said.
Mary got confirmation from banks that payments had been made to her credit card accounts.
But it turns out those deposits were written with checks that weren’t good.
“About 10 or 12 days later, they reversed the payments,” Mary said
Payments sent to “Michael Baxter” in Indianapolis
But in the meantime, the man told Mary he was going to send a $12,000 payment to her card, but she first had to take out $6,000 cash advance to cover the taxes.
She took $6,000, put it into an envelope and took it to a UPS store in Land O’ Lakes.
She then shipped the package to Michael Baxter at a residential address in Indianapolis.
When asked if she thought that made sense, Mary replied, “No, because my bank didn’t question me.”
UPS receipts show Mary sent multiple shipments of cash to recipients at the same address.
One shipment was sent to a woman named “Ella."
“That he said was the bookkeeper,” she said.
WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney went to the address on Colombia Avenue on the near north side, where Mary sent the money.
WRTV discovered an 85-year-old woman named Ella lived there.
- WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney: A woman in Florida said she sent money here. Do you know anything about that?
- Ella: No, I don’t.
It’s unclear who intercepted the cash Mary sent from Florida.
Ella told WRTV she doesn’t know anyone by the name of Michael Baxter and she has not received any packages.
WRTV tried an address for a Michael Baxter in Beech Grove, but we were told no one by that name lives there.
“Michael” calls us back
There are multiple people named Michael Baxter in Indianapolis, but none have the same phone number or address given to Mary.
One number had a Pennsylvania area code.
Our sister station in Tampa, WFTS, called it and left a message.
A man who identified himself as Michael later called WFTS back.
“What do you call me for?” the man asked in broken English.
We asked him what happened to Mary’s money.
“I don’t know Mary,” he responded.
He called back minutes later, saying he wanted to talk to Mary.
Another number Mary said he used to call her was from outside the United States.
Reported elder fraud increases 11%
WRTV has learned elder fraud is on the rise.
An FBI study shows scams targeting people age 60 and older caused $3.4 billion in losses in 2023—an 11 percent increase from the year before.
“With any kind of fraud, what the fraudsters want to do is to get folks to not think clearly and send money immediately,” said FBI Special Agent Keith Givens.
The most common types of scams impacting older adults include romance, tech support, government impersonation, home repair, as well as sweepstakes and lottery scams.
WRTV Investigates contacted the Hoosier Lottery, which operates Mega Millions in Indiana.
“The Hoosier Lottery will never contact potential winners unless you have entered a Second-chance drawing or a specific Hoosier Lottery promotion,” said Jared Bond, a spokesperson for the Hoosier Lottery, in an email to WRTV. “We will never ask you to pay a fee to claim your winnings. If you feel you have been a victim of a lottery related scam, please contact local law enforcement.”
Mary contacted Truist and Synchrony Bank, which issued her Sam's Club card.
Neither would return her money.
She’s also contacted the Florida Attorney General’s Office and law enforcement in Pasco County, Florida and Indianapolis.
So far, no one has been charged.
“I know I'll never see a dime of it. My head’s not in the clouds that way, you know,” Mary said.
Mary now owes nearly $40,000 from the cash advances and charges.
She once had an 800-credit score, but now can barely pay her bills and is having to continue working.
“I'd like to get to the bottom of this to where I can get my credit rating restored,” Mary said.
She also is speaking out to try to keep the same thing from happening to someone else.
TIPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF
- Hang up and call the lottery/sweepstakes directly to see if you’ve won
- The number for the Hoosier Lottery is 1-800-955-6886
- Do an internet search of the phone number and name of the person who called you
- Talk to a trusted family member about the situation
- Don’t pay upfront fees to claim a prize
- You have to play to win
