Nyla
6 May 2006, 01:04
A lottery or sweepstakes win for hundreds of thousands, even millions, that comes out of the blue, when you least expect it. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to find a lottery win among the junk mail and grocery circulars? Who wouldn’t be excited to hold a cashier’s check for the first installment of your prize? Who wouldn’t be happy when they took the check to the bank and deposited it?
Unfortunately, the thrill won’t last long, because it’s all a scam. It can cost victims hundreds or thousands, and may even lead to legal trouble for them if they cannot afford to cover the loss from their bank account. While many of us are suspicious of emails that land in our inboxes, promising us millions, this particular lottery scam goes to more elaborate lengths than most to appear legitimate. Most internet users realize that anyone can sign up for a free email account, but are more trusting when someone has shelled out for postage and convincing documents that you can hold in your hand.
The European Lottery Foundation (which also presents itself as the Bronson Early Bird Sweepstakes) ships out “winner” notifications by postal mail, includes a cashier check for the “first installment” of the winner’s prize, and requests that the winner deposit the check, and wire a healthy portion of it to someone in another country in order to cover the taxes on the winnings. Once the bank discovers the forgery, the victim is responsible for repaying the entire amount of the check to the bank and the scammer, thanks to largely untraceable wire services, gets away with the victim’s money.
In addition to scamming by postal mail, another boost to this company’s apparent credibility is the use of a toll-free contact number, 1-800-630-3351. Some targets have been able to connect to this number and speak to someone claiming to be “Vicente Perez”. The company will refuse to provide an address, phone number, or any traceable information about the “company”. A law enforcement official passed on to us that the company may be purchasing marketing/mailing lists and targeting U.S. citizens who have provided their addresses and names when registering for merchandise. Be aware that providing your contact information to any company may result in your information being resold to other retailers, marketers and, yes, even scammers. A list of several thousand mailing addresses and names can be purchased rather cheaply, and postal mail and toll free numbers are no guarantee of trustworthiness.
There are additional facts to keep in mind, as well. Playing foreign lotteries is illegal in the United States, thanks to federal law. Sweepstakes or lotteries, licensed in Europe or the United States, that require any sort of fee in order to claim or receive a prize are breaking the law. The only entities you should be paying in order to settle taxes are the IRS and your state treasury. Wire services such as Moneygram and Western Union are insecure and can be picked up worldwide with little or no proof of identity, regardless of the "receiver address". They do not refund your money if you are defrauded. You are legally and financially responsible to your bank if you deposit a forged check and withdraw the money from the account. In short, any sweepstakes or lottery win that requires you send money to someone is sure to make you a loser in the end, not a winner.
For additional information on this scam, international lotteries and information on how to recognize one of these forged checks, please see the links below.
http://www.sequoyahcountytimes.com/articles/2005/01/07/news/8scam.txt
http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/alert/2006-11.txt
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2006/sa06070.html
http://www.lotteryinsider.com/scams/2003.htm
Unfortunately, the thrill won’t last long, because it’s all a scam. It can cost victims hundreds or thousands, and may even lead to legal trouble for them if they cannot afford to cover the loss from their bank account. While many of us are suspicious of emails that land in our inboxes, promising us millions, this particular lottery scam goes to more elaborate lengths than most to appear legitimate. Most internet users realize that anyone can sign up for a free email account, but are more trusting when someone has shelled out for postage and convincing documents that you can hold in your hand.
The European Lottery Foundation (which also presents itself as the Bronson Early Bird Sweepstakes) ships out “winner” notifications by postal mail, includes a cashier check for the “first installment” of the winner’s prize, and requests that the winner deposit the check, and wire a healthy portion of it to someone in another country in order to cover the taxes on the winnings. Once the bank discovers the forgery, the victim is responsible for repaying the entire amount of the check to the bank and the scammer, thanks to largely untraceable wire services, gets away with the victim’s money.
In addition to scamming by postal mail, another boost to this company’s apparent credibility is the use of a toll-free contact number, 1-800-630-3351. Some targets have been able to connect to this number and speak to someone claiming to be “Vicente Perez”. The company will refuse to provide an address, phone number, or any traceable information about the “company”. A law enforcement official passed on to us that the company may be purchasing marketing/mailing lists and targeting U.S. citizens who have provided their addresses and names when registering for merchandise. Be aware that providing your contact information to any company may result in your information being resold to other retailers, marketers and, yes, even scammers. A list of several thousand mailing addresses and names can be purchased rather cheaply, and postal mail and toll free numbers are no guarantee of trustworthiness.
There are additional facts to keep in mind, as well. Playing foreign lotteries is illegal in the United States, thanks to federal law. Sweepstakes or lotteries, licensed in Europe or the United States, that require any sort of fee in order to claim or receive a prize are breaking the law. The only entities you should be paying in order to settle taxes are the IRS and your state treasury. Wire services such as Moneygram and Western Union are insecure and can be picked up worldwide with little or no proof of identity, regardless of the "receiver address". They do not refund your money if you are defrauded. You are legally and financially responsible to your bank if you deposit a forged check and withdraw the money from the account. In short, any sweepstakes or lottery win that requires you send money to someone is sure to make you a loser in the end, not a winner.
For additional information on this scam, international lotteries and information on how to recognize one of these forged checks, please see the links below.
http://www.sequoyahcountytimes.com/articles/2005/01/07/news/8scam.txt
http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/alert/2006-11.txt
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2006/sa06070.html
http://www.lotteryinsider.com/scams/2003.htm