Congratulations, You’re A Winner! (OR NOT!)
The National Consumer Protection Week’s Blog via the FTC provided the following information on lottery, prize and sweepstake scams.
“Congratulations, you’re a winner!” Wouldn’t you love to hear that?
Last year, the Federal Trade Commission received more than 64,000 complaints from consumers about lottery, prize and sweepstake claims. Scammers — who claim you’ve won thousands of dollars in a lottery or sweepstakes — insist that before you collect your winnings you must wire money to cover taxes or fees or deposit a check with your name on it and wire back a portion. Victims get cold calls, emails and paper mail, all promising big winnings. Scammers say whatever they think will convince a victim to wire money or deposit a check — which is really a fake. Last week, the FTC co-hosted a public workshop with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago to talk about how government agencies, industry, and advocacy organizations can work together to put the brakes on this fraud.
Workshop participants talked about the scope of the scams, how they operate, who is vulnerable to them, and how to best educate consumers about them. Representatives from MoneyGram and Western Union previewed their upcoming fraud prevention efforts directed at consumers and employees. A Walmart representative shared the company’s broad-based education efforts directed to employees, including those who process money transfers and consumers who shop in Walmart stores.
Participants agreed that education is consumers’ first line of defense when money transfer scams are involved. Here are two tips you’re probably see more of: “Never wire money to someone you don’t know,” and “Wiring money is like sending cash.” Why not? Because once your money’s gone, you can’t get it back.
For more information about these scams, click on Money Matters: Money Wiring Scams and Spotting an Imposter. If someone announces that you won a lottery that you didn’t enter – or asks you to deposit a check from a stranger, drawn on a bank you can’t personally check out –report it to the FTC.
Visit the National Consumer Protection Week website.