Lottery scams still a problem — especially for seniors
“With outmost joy, we are pleased to inform you of the result of the East-West Australia Lotteries International programs held on the 24th of August 2007 drew cash Prize of 1,000,000.00.”
Talk about timing. I received this e-mail the same day I was at a fraud prevention seminar, where lottery scams were a hot topic. Presenters said people are still falling for these fake notices.
Lottery scams are the largest complaint to law enforcement, said Tod Marner, an investigator with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office. They are also the most frustrating complaint because local law enforcement can’t investigate claims that originate from outside the United States. They can be filed only with the FBI or Secret Service, which compile complaints and look for trends of widespread financial scams before taking action. (Forward such e-mails with full e-mail header to 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov.)
Seniors are the most likely to fall for lottery scams, seminar presenters agreed. Older people are more trustful and often unsophisticated when it comes to financial affairs, research says, and they are more likely to not understand details well enough to evaluate an offer.
Often, banks are the first to get wind that a senior is about to be scammed. When a senior comes in and requests a wire transfer, which lottery scammers profit from by requesting an amount to cover taxes or a processing fee before forking over the fake money, banks face the task of explaining the scam.
One senior walked into Wells Fargo in Denver to make a $30,000 wire transfer to South Korea to claim his lottery winnings, and despite what bank managers did to persuade him it was a fraud, he persisted, said Lisa Tennyson, an employee in Denver whose job is to prevent fraud at the bank. But the senior argued until the bank told him if he didn’t like the bank’s refusal he could close his account.
How can you tell a fake lottery? Easy. There’s no such thing as a foreign lottery that’s legal in this country. Your only lottery option is the Colorado Lottery or another state lottery in the United States. And you must buy a ticket and turn it in to win.
Two other popular scams are:
- Fake checks. Victims are sent a check (it looks real, but it’s not) and asked to deposit it in their account and wire transfer a lesser amount of it back as payment for taxes or fees for the transaction. Everything seems fine until the bank contacts the victim and says the check is no good and demands repayment.
- Auction overpayments. An online auction seller gets an e-mail from someone saying he or she will pay more if they can have the item right now. The buyer sends an overnight check for a larger amount and tells the seller they can keep part of the excess payment and refund another portion. But again, the seller’s money is sent away before the bank calls to say the check is no good.
A common theme: If you’re asked to wire money to someone you don’t know or haven’t contacted, it’s likely a scam.
If you feel you are a victim of Internet crime, you can report it at www.ic3.gov, which is run in part by the FBI. The site also contains current scam alerts (click Press Room).
Contact the writer: dan.serra@gazette.com
