Lottery Scam sends Cheques
09/06/2009 11:04:46
We often here of Lottery scams doing the rounds but right now investigators in Canada are looking into a more unusual scam. This lottery scam sends cheques to ‘winners’ making the scam an irresistible lure for potential victims. The B.C Crime prevention Society is currently looking into the scam which comes in letter form with a cheque attached. It’s a combination of many old scams but together is potentially very convincing and some people have already fallen victim.
One of the people to receive the scam letter was Pat Briggs, she received a letter in the mail that sounded like the answer to her dreams. The letter, from the Queens Swiss Lottery told her she had won $250,000. Contained in the letter was a cheque for $1,895 - $500 for Mrs Briggs to keep and $1,395 to send back to cover expenses to release the lottery win.
The cheque and letter looked genuine and with the lottery actually sending Mrs Briggs money rather than asking for it, it seemed legitimate. Not one to be easily fooled Pat did some research online and discovered the phone number on the letter was a mobile phone number, the address was made up and the cheque was actually stolen.
Officials at the B.C Crime Prevention Society talked about how this lottery scam combines elements of many popular lottery scams and popular ploys to create a convincing scam to lure victims. The letter is cleverly written and of course the big pull is, you’re not actually out of any money as they have sent you a cheque.
B.C Crime Prevention officials are asking people who may have been a victim to these scams or who have received them in the post to contact them before doing anything and with cases of internet fraud on the rise, it’s worth remembering that if something seems too good to be true.. Then it probably is!
Page Last Updated: 17/06/2010 17:02:17
