Cons, Frauds and Scams
Sweepstakes Scams
Prizes and sweepstakes scams were second on the Top Ten list.
You should NEVER has to pay any money to receive a prize. Don't
be fooled by requests for handling and shipping fees, customs
fee, or money for taxes.
A senior in Mesa received a check for
over $4600 and a letter stating that she had won this year's
million dollar sweepstakes. The check is to "help pay your
insurance fees, legal and documentation fee, and administration
fee." She was asked to wire back 60% of the check to pay the
fees before she would receive her prize. Then she was to call a
phone number -- a Canadian phone number -- and she was asked to
keep this private and confidential. Please don't be fooled by
these advance checks. They are bogus! Had this woman deposited
the money into her account and wired back the 60% to the company
she would have lost the money from her account and the bank
would not have an obligation to reimburse her. Also see
Refund Checks.
We have received information on a
sweepstakes company in Clearwater, FL because the consumer
received a notice in the mail about a sweepstakes entry to win 1
million dollars. When the consumer did some research they found
that this company tried to sell magazines to consumers who
called to enter the contest. This is a very common approach for
these companies to get consumers to contact them. Don't be taken
in by these sweepstakes. There is no assurance that anyone has
ever won, or will win, the grand prize.
More reports are
coming in about bogus advance checks that are sent as part of
sweepstakes scams. Victims are instructed to deposit these
checks and then wire money to cover taxes, processing fees, etc.
to collect their prize. Since the checks are not valid, the
victim is out the money from their bank account. Once again, if
you've won a free prize you should not have to pay taxes or any
fees to collect that prize.
More than 50 million Americans
enter at least one sweepstakes per year, and most enter without
making a purchase to win. However, many seniors believe they
cannot win unless they make a purchase or they believe they have
a better chance of winning when they make a purchase. For these
seniors, this can create a serious financial burden. To address
this problem, the Direct Marketing Association has opened up a
help line to help relatives and caregivers of these seniors deal
with this problem.
If you know of a senior who may be in need
of education on sweepstakes, you can call the Direct Marketing
Association help line at 1-202-861-2475. You can also call the
Mesa Police Department SAFE Senior Program, 644-5014, and they
will be happy to help you.
Please remember, you should
not have to pay any money or make any purchases to enter to win
a sweepstakes.
Mesa Police Department
PO Box 1466
Mesa, AZ 85211
480-644-2030