A person claiming the name of Jane Lester has been sending Callaway Chamber of Commerce members invitations to advertise in "Fulton Senior High School schedule cards."
According to chamber Executive Director Tamara Tateosian, Lester is not affiliated with the chamber in any way. She is also not affiliated with the Fulton Sun.
"She got on our website and went to our membership directory," Tateosian said. "From there, she sent emails through request information (function of the website) to our chamber members."
Tateosian also said her organization investigated and Lester is not connected to the Fulton Public School District. She also said any time the chamber hires anyone to sell on its behalf, such as for local maps, she will personally send an email providing members with details about that person.
The person calling herself Jane Lester is using an email address: [email protected]. In other areas, she's also used variations including [email protected] and [email protected].
Several news sources have reported this to be a scam. In March 2017, the Isanti-Chisago County Star in Cambridge, Minnesota, also reported a Jane Lester purportedly selling pocket sports schedules. In 2013, the Wilson Post in Lebanon, Tennessee, reported a possible scam by a Philip and Jane Lester, of Bluefield, Virginia, pitching ads for a local high school sports pocket calendar.
Address.com lists a Philip A. Lester in Bluefield, Virginia, with a home telephone number. No one thus far has returned a message left there by the Fulton Sun.
Whitepages.com listed another phone number; the person answering the phone there said, "Scholarship Calendars." She said neither Philip A. Lester or Jane Lester were available to interview and took a message for them. An internet search for a company named "Scholarship Calendars" led to a business listing on Manta.com listing Philip Lester, an address and a phone number. It also listed a website, scholarships.com, which appears unconnected.
The Lester name also was onnected to similar purported scams in Hutchinson, Lakefield, Jackson and Janesville, Minnesota; Williamson, Tennessee; Charleston, South Carolina; and more.
Tateosian said she had spoken to Fulton Police Chief Steve Myers who said if anyone was scammed by this organization, they should contact him (573-592-3100) or Sheriff Clay Chism (573-642-7291).