9252015-RELEASE-Promises of millions draw at hearts of Utah residents; don’t fall for it
Words:
James Subman was certain that his winnings of mega-millions were on their way.
“My representative, Ben Gardner, said all I have to do is make my raffle payment,” the elderly Murray man says. “They sent me nine pages of documentation to show how legitimate this international raffle was.”
Included in the foreign lottery packet was a “certification” from the Better Business Bureau that this was indeed a legitimate. Subman says that was what prompted him to call… he trusts the BBB.
Jane Driggs, CEO for Better Business Bureau, says, “Calls about foreign lotteries are quite frequent at the BBB-Utah. If you receive a mailed lottery solicitation that you think may be illegal, contact your local Better Business Bureau and turn the entire mail piece over to your local postmaster or to the nearest postal inspector.”
Foreign lotteries are illegal in the United States, she says. As a general proposition, sending lottery material through the mail is prohibited by federal law. This material includes letters and circulars concerning a lottery, tickets or any paper claiming to represent tickets in a lottery, and payments to purchase such tickets.
Typically, what happens is a recipient pays the required fees but never see any lottery tickets or any other evidence that lottery tickets were bought. In some cases, the soliciting company uses high pressure telemarketing techniques to obtain credit card account numbers. Once they have the numbers, repeated unauthorized transactions are made to the accounts.
Keep in mind, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Many of these same companies promoting foreign lotteries also recontact consumers claiming to be able to recover lost funds, for a fee.
Here are tips to remember if you receive a call or lottery packet:
· Are you being directed to wire money, provide access to your bank account or credit card numbers, or forward any personal financial information in order to claim your sweepstakes or lottery winnings? This is an attempt to steal your money or identity, by a person masquerading as a sweepstakes or lottery official! Legitimate sweepstakes companies do not require you to pay taxes, customs fees, shipping or handling, or any other fee before awarding your winnings.
· Did you ever actually enter the company's sweepstakes? Chances are you did not! Read the fine print on any sweepstakes offer or entry form that you receive in the mail. Usually is says something to the effect that you win, IF your number is selected or IF your number is one of the winning numbers.
· Do not be deceived by seals, official-sounding names, or terms that imply affiliation with or endorsement by a government entity, here or abroad. It is illegal for a promoter to misrepresent an affiliation with a government organization or other well-known organization. If you have truly won a prize, whether it is a cash card, gift certificate or product, there should be no redemption fees, postage fees, delivery fees, or other conditional rules to comply with in order to receive your prize.
And Driggs says responding to just one foreign lottery ticket or one fraudulent sweepstakes notice or one prize award solicitation can open the door to many more bogus offers. Ignore all such offers!
Mr. Subman heeded the advice and didn’t get scammed.
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--Contact: Jane Driggs, 801-506-1054
