Police offer tips to avoid lottery scams

Apr 9, 2006, 12:12 pm (7 comments)

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Calumet City, Indiana, police are investigating several reported scams that have misled people into thinking they have won a substantial amount of money from the lottery.

According to police, the scam begins when the victim receives a letter in the mail, along with a check for several thousand dollars. The letter then instructs its recipient to call a telephone number in Canada.

When the victim calls the Canada number, he or she is told the check is part of the lottery winnings and are instructed to cash it, police said.

When the victims cash these checks, they are told to send some of the money to the firm in order to cover the cost of fees so the remainder of the lottery winnings can be released.

According to police, the victims are told to send the money through Western Union Money Gram to speed the process along.

Several days after sending money to the firm, police said, the victim is told by the bank that the check is fraudulent. He or she is then responsible for repayment of the entire amount of the check.

Russ Collett, assistant special agent in charge at the Chicago field office of the United States Secret Service, said these mail letters are similar to email scams circulating on the internet. He said these types of scams are called "4-1-9" or "advance fee fraud" schemes.

Collett said the letters, both mail and e-mail, originate from all over the world including Canada, England and Western Africa.

"We've had successful prosecutions," Collett said. "The problem is, and we recognize it, they are overseas."

Collett said there are some telling factors that can tip off a fake letter.

"They need to look for differences in the syntax, or mistakes in grammar," Collett said. "A bank president is going to proof his or her document before it's sent."

Calumet City police investigator Marco Glumac said people should use common sense when faced with these kinds of letters and phone calls.

"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," Glumac said. "You have to use your common sense."

Glumac said it's best to be suspicious of all letters and phone calls of this nature. He said while some may feel embarrassed for falling victim to this type of scam, it is important to report incidents to local authorities.

"If they find that it's a scam, give us a call," Glumac said.

Police urge people not to cash these checks, and to immediately report any letters or checks they have received to the police department.

Munster Times

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Comments

SassyOhio's avatarSassyOhio

This scam is no joke! This is the one that my Roomate was scammed by, they call them selves LOTTO LORE and they send out this letter with a check. The check will be from some bogus company ( hers said it was Jones Clothing Co ) and then they tell you to wire that money to them  EQUALS YOU CASH THE CHECK SEND THEM THE MONEY THEY GET THE MONEY THE CHECK IS A FRAUD YOU PAY BACK THE CHECK OR GO TO JAIL!!!! And that is exactly what my best friend / roomate is doing now. Thank Goodness she kept the letter and was able to PROVE that she thought that it was real and now they are letting her make 300.00 a month restitution instead of going to jail. Just because you get scammed doesnt mean you have to pay so 300.00 is ALOT of money a month for someone who makes 1400 a month so BEWARE

Blackie

I put my Jag on the internet for sale and I got several offers from some folks that were very eager to buy it . To Ship it overseas to a client there. I didn't buy it and still have the car. I did a search on the web and found similar stories. It was a scam and sounds about the same.

Coin Toss's avatarCoin Toss

Why do people think they are going to be a winner in a lottery they didn't buy a ticket fo, even if it was a legitimate lottery, which these scams aren't.

CASH Only

"419"? Would victims play this number?

savagegoose's avatarsavagegoose

wait so depositing a bouncing check lands u in jail?

im gonaa have to start paying my bills with bouncing checks, id like to see some big utillity  company go to jail/ how come the dupe has to pay, isnt there a clearing time of a few days?

 

i guess things work different in the USA

SassyOhio's avatarSassyOhio

Oh yeah passing a bad check will get you A BIG FAT CELL IN THE BIG HOUSE LOL, Hell my husbands mom had 6  COUNT THEM 6 Pen Numbers attached to her name for passing bad checks Dupe Alert  Of course we dont allow her in our home she will steal you blind but yeah. They do give you time to make restitution on them of course. But this is a different situation with these scams, the law dont give a rats @ss that you been scammed all they know Is YOU CASHED a STOLEN CHECK THAT IS NO GOOD Or You cashed a check that was forged either way ... your the receiver and you the PARTY HELD RESPONSIBLE Unhappy

CASH Only

wait so depositing a bouncing check lands u in jail?

im gonaa have to start paying my bills with bouncing checks, id like to see some big utillity  company go to jail/ how come the dupe has to pay, isnt there a clearing time of a few days?

 

i guess things work different in the USA

Things are different here. We even spell some words differently.

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