Scammers Call With Promises of Government Grants

It started with a phone call. Alison and Butch Lecky couldn't believe their luck when they got a call last March saying they'd won a grant from the federal government, reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.

"We were guaranteed a $15,000 government grant that we would not have to pay back. It could be used for education, basically whatever we needed," said Alison Lecky.

All they had to do to collect their grant money was send a $99 donation to India. The Washington state couple says it sounded like a good deal - until the caller demanded they also wire a bank transfer fee and a security deposit totaling almost $1,650.

The Leckys were suspicious but faced with expenses caring for a new grandchild, they sent the money.

"I was on the phone bawling and I kept telling him, I said, 'This had better be true because we cannot afford to lose this money,'" said Alison. "I was in there just really crying and he kept reassuring me, 'it's okay, Mrs. Lecky. Everything's going to be fine.'"

The Leckys say the caller claimed to be working for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: HHS. But that's not true. And it angers HHS deputy inspector general Gerald Roy.

"These scammers prey on a very, very vulnerable portion of our society and I am more than willing to do something about that," said Roy.

The I.G.'s office fraud hotline is tracking complaints from across the country about phony government grants. Investigators say it's an old scam with a new twist - criminals are taking advantage of a down economy and government stimulus efforts - to lure victims into thinking they can cash in.

"Individuals have to recognize that no one from the federal government will be calling them and offering them a grant," said Roy. "That's not how the grant process works."

The I.G.'s office is warning consumers to beware of grant offers. Real government grants are typically awarded in a lengthy application process to organizations, not individuals - with no fees.

Too late for the Leckys, they didn't get the grant and lost all the money they sent up front, putting their further behind on their bills and at risk for losing their home.