North-American Sweepstakes Lottery Scam!

Just thought I'd post this so others can be aware:

Yesterday I got a letter in the mail saying it was from the North American Lottery. It said it was part of Publishers Clearing House (which I have participated before in) and it had the small logos of several newstations on the upper right corner along with an address in Canada.

The letter tells me that a drawing was held on August 30th and that 25 people were ramdomly selected to be the winners, I was one of th 25 and it told me my share was $150,000. Also with a letter, there was a check that looked very real for the amount of $4,000 which was deducted from my winnings. It said the 4K was for the fees and taxes. I was to cash that check and send the money to them through western union, once my paid fees were received, I would get the rest of my money.

Of course I got suspicious.... so I went online before I started calling anyone on the letter. Sure enough... there have been some people who have been scammed w/ this stupid letter. Some have cashed the check and mailed the money to the company and made them richer... others did some investigating first and saw what a scam this is.

So please be aware if you get a letter like that. It will have a Canada stamp and no return address on the envelope.

Lottery scams are happening constantly and always prey on elderlys and people who are ignorant. They always state that in order to collect your winnings, you have to pay some kind of fee which can range from $40.00 to $400.00...or in this case $4000.00. If it's too good to be true...then it is.

Yeah. You can actually cash the check and get the money. But then you are supposed to wire it to that company and days later the bank calls you up telling you the check didn't clear and you now owe $4,000!! :faint2:

wow that stinks that ppl actually do that!

Oooo, that's horrible. People that do those scams should be smacked!

Beckie

It's sick that people do these scams. It is sad that people fall for these scams and lose their money. Especially people who are in a tough spot already.

I agree, if it's too good to be true, it's most likely to be a scam. Just like those, you won a vacation scams, that turn out to be pressure sales scams into buying a timeshare.

This just came in from USPS Newslink we get at work today.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

Postal Inspectors lead global anti-fraud campaign



PMG Jack Potter has announced a consumer-awareness campaign to educate the American public about fraudulent checks sent through the mail. Potter announced the campaign yesterday at a Washington, DC, news conference.



Investigators led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service have arrested 77 people as part of a global fraud crackdown that has intercepted more than $2.1 billion in counterfeit checks bound for the United States. The eight-month investigation involved schemes in Nigeria, the Netherlands, England and Canada, and has prevented more than half a million fake checks from being mailed to American victims.



“All fake check scams have a common pattern,” Potter said. “Scammers contact victims online or through the mail and send them checks or money orders. Then they ask that some portion of the money be wired back to them.”



Potter added the best thing our citizens can do to protect themselves is learn how to avoid these scams. “The old adage still holds true,” he said. “If someone offers you a deal that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”



Assistant U.S. Attorney General Alice Fisher applauded the Inspection Service for its leadership in the global fight against fake checks. “Thanks to the efforts of the Postal Inspection Service and our international partners, we are able to arrest scam artists who operate overseas and bring them to justice,” Fisher said.



The awareness campaign has launched a series of television, print and online advertisements that feature a tagline telling consumers, “Scams like these don’t work as well in person. That’s why they’re done online.”



Go to fakechecks.org to learn more.

I get these stupid foreign lottery emails on yahoo all the time. I just want to smack the crap out of those freaks, lol!! One time I sent a nasty message back to them.

Beckie

Ugh,I hate Scams,I get thoses e-mails too beckie i always just delted them..