Fraudulent Lottery and Sweepstakes Winning Notifications
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- During the past year, the New Smyrna Beach Police Department has received numerous complaints from our citizens who have received e-mails and postal letters claiming
winnings have been reserved for those receiving notification they won a lottery or sweepstakes, said police Detective Tony Ford.
"The Crime Prevention Office would like to caution those who receive such notifications, before you follow the instructions outlined in the notification, do
your due diligence," Ford said. "If you have access to a computer, use a search engine to verify that the offer is valid. Check blogs for any complaints by others who have also received the same type of notification or have actually followed the notificationinstructions."
Ford said, "Many winning notifications advise, before you are entitled collect your winning, you must pay some type of fee, i.e. taxes, legal fees, insurance, handling fee, etc. If your notification states a fee is required, more than likely you are being scammed. Legitimate lotteries and sweepstakes do not require an advanced payment, no matter how little the fee may be.
Your notification letter may have a check attached with instructions to deposit the check and then send a money order or money gram to cover taxes, handling fees, or
other expenses, Ford said, adding, however, you are instructed to make the money order or money grams payable to a designated "named" individual, not a business, corporation, or state.
"If your letter or the representative with whom you have been corresponding instructs you to purchase a money order or money gram in an individual's name, it is
guaranteed you are being scammed," Ford said.
"You may even contact the bank the enclosed check is written against and be advised the account number is valid," Ford said. "This is still no guarantee the check will clear.
Usually, these checks take weeks to clear and, while you are waiting for the check to clear, the representative you have been corresponding with concerning your winnings insists you send one or more money orders to handle the advance fees required to collect your winnings. After paying each fee, you will be instructed more fees need to be paid before your winnings will arrive. Usually, you are informed the winning check will arrive by courier on a specified date. When the check does not arrive, you contact the representative and are informed the check is being held up by some government agency and additional funds are needed before the check will be released."
Unfortunately, by this time you have been conned out of hundreds if not thousands of dollars. It is about this same time when your bank notifies you that the check you deposited has been returned as a counterfeit, and your account will be debited for all overages.
"In each of these types of cons, the subject you are dealing with is out of the country, possibly Canada, Europe or Africa," Ford said, adding, "The name they have given you is false and the phone number provided to you is a mobile phone, which cannot be traced."
If you receive a winning notification and feel it is not legitimate, turn over the letter and all documentation to your local Post Office. If you have a computer, file
a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the FBI, or the United State Postal Inspector Service by going to www.consumer.gov/idtheft or www.ftc.gov.
www.ic3.gov. (FBI site), www.usps.com/postalinspectors or www.lookstogoodtobetrue.com
For additional information concerning cons, scams, lottery and/or sweepstake notifications, contact the Crime Prevention Office of the New Smyrna Beach Police
Department at 386-424-2240.