SCAMS BULLETIN Host is Jay White.

November 11, 2019

LOTTERY and SWEEPSTAKES SCAMS

According to the Federal Trade Commission, lottery and sweepstakes scams are one of the most common consumer frauds operating today. Scammers can be very convincing. Who wouldn’t want to win big!

Here is how it works:

You get a card, call, or email telling you that you won a lot of money! Maybe it’s a lottery, sweepstakes, or some other prize. The person calling is excited and can’t wait for you to get your winnings.

But here’s what to expect next:

They tell you there’s a fee, sometimes it is for taxes, customs duties or some other bogus charge. You must pay it before you can receive your winnings. They may ask for your bank account information, or ask you to send money via a wire transfer, or to purchase gift cards and provide the card numbers. Don’t do it!

Do not give money to anyone on their promise to give you something in return. If you send money you lose money instead of winning it.  Don’t expect to receive a big prize. Instead, you will likely get more requests for money, and more false promises that you won big.

Elderly persons are more vulnerable to scams. They frequently are targets of lottery and sweepstakes scams.

FTC’s tips to fight against lottery and sweepstakes scams:

*Do not give money to strangers.

*Do not give your personal information to strangers.

* Keep your money – and your information – to yourself. Never share your financial information with someone who contacts you.  And never wire money to or share gift card numbers with anyone who asks you to do so. Both payment methods are a sure sign of a scam.

* Fake check scam. If you receive a check for a large amount of money with instructions to deposit it in your bank account and send back a check “to cover expenses” or some other bogus use-don’t do it!

* If you receive a fake check and you deposit it in your account, your bank may not discover it is fake for several days. In the interim, if you write a check on your account, not knowing the fake checked has bounced, you could end up owing your bank the amount of your check you wrote on your account.    

Pass this warning information on to a friend. You probably know someone who could use a friendly reminder.

If you spot a scam, report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint. Your report can help FTC investigators identify the scammers and stop them before they steal someone’s hard-earned money.

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