Lottery and Charity Scams Articles and Information
Charitable donation scams
Scam artists claiming to represent charitable
organizations use e-mails and telephone calls to steal donations and in some
cases donors' identities.
International lottery fraud
Scam operators,
often based in Canada, use telephone and direct mail to notify victims
that they have won a lottery. To show good faith, the perpetrator may send
the victim a check. The victim is instructed to deposit the check and
immediately send (via wire) the money back to the lottery committee. The
perpetrator will create a “sense of urgency,” compelling the victim to
send the money before the check, which is counterfeit, is returned. The
victim is typically instructed to pay taxes, attorney’s fees and exchange
rate differences in order to receive the rest of the prize. These lottery
solicitations violate U.S. law, which prohibits the cross-border sale or
purchase of lottery tickets by phone or mail.
Fake prizes
A perpetrator claims the victim has won a
nonexistent prize and either asks the person to send a check to pay the taxes
or obtains the credit card or checking account number to pay for shipping and
handling charges.