83-yr-old driven to death by junk mail

London: Junk mail conmen fleeced an elderly woman out of 50,000 (Rs 41 lakh) and drove her to her death.
Jessica Looke, 83, was taken in by letters and email offering huge cash prizes if she sent off a “claim fee”. And once foreign fraudsters realised she was hooked they swamped her with 30,000 offers over nine years — at one point sending her 30 a day. Confused Jessica handed over 50,000 in bogus fees, spending pension, savings and even taking out loans.

Her obsession was increasingly causing her intense mental agony. She eventually contracted pneumonia from the stress and died last month. Daughter Marilyn, 52, of Chesterfield, said, “She got pneumonia because she was run-down and not looking after herself. She was being hounded. She wasn’t a winner — she was a victim.”


Watch out
• Fraudsters often use names of real lottos then demand processing fees.
• They use excuses such as taxes or custom duties to extract more and more.
• Chances of catching them are nil as “fees” are wired leaving no record of recipients.
• Victims then go on a “suckers’ list” to be targeted again and again.

Source: mumbaimirror.com