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Authorities Warn Against Foreign Lottery Scam
Thursday, July 20, 2006 posted 10:53 AM EDT
If you've received mail congratulating you on winning a lottery in a foreign country, you could be the target of an international
scam, U.S. and Canadian authorities warned Wednesday.
U.S. and Canadian authorities said cross-border fraud is a growing problem, taking the form not only of lottery offers, but
of fraudulent telemarketing, supposed credit card protection offers, and offers of loans requiring an advance fees. The fraud
may also involve counterfeit checks supposedly sent to help cover fees or taxes on lottery winnings, authorities said.
The U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, Debra Wong Yang, attributed the trend to a crackdown on similar cons in the United States
over the past 15 years.
That has "driven some unscrupulous telemarketers into Canada, where they think they can evade law enforcement," she said.
A U.S.-Canadian task force has made considerable headway in recent years, securing 40 indictments and 32 arrests in British
Columbia, Alberta and Montreal, as well as in Nigeria and the United States, according to the FBI.
So far, 20 people have been convicted, according to the Justice Department.
Betty Divall of Los Angeles has been victimized twice by hustlers in Canada and the Middle East.
Divall sent several hundred thousand dollars in "taxes" to addresses in Montreal, British Columbia and the Middle East in
2000 and 2001 in an attempt to get lottery winnings, according to the FBI.
Three people who had been operating in Montreal and Vancouver were later arrested in connection with the crime.
Authorities offered the following tips:
-- Be suspicious of offers that sound too good to be true.
-- Fraudulent telemarketers may misrepresent themselves as government officials, law enforcement, bank representatives or
attorneys to convince potential victims to send money. They may also send documents falsely representing their company or
appearing to come from a government agency.
-- If you have really won a lottery or sweepstakes, you will never have to pay taxes or fees in advance to get your winnings.
-- Hang up on anyone who solicits money before awarding a prize.
-- Never provide personal information over the phone, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, credit card or
bank information.
-- Don't try to deposit checks sent by companies whose representatives claim it is being sent to cover fees or taxes on lottery
winnings. These checks may appear legitimate, but they are not, authorities say. Some may even be drawn on legitimate bank
accounts, and may include actual routing numbers so that they appear authentic even when presented for deposit at a bank.
-- Fraudulent telemarketers will apply high-pressure sales techniques by falsely claiming fees are required to get the supposed
winnings.
People who believe they may have been targeted can report cross-border or advance-fee scams via the Internet or telephone
to the FBI's Internet crime complaint center, www.ic3.gov; to Phonebusters at (888) 495-8501; or to the Federal Trade Commission
at (877) 382-4357.
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