Example of a Real Life Lottery Scam

CU MEMBER FALLS VICTIM TO LOTTO SCAM, WARNING TO OTHERS

A credit union member in the Houston area has learned a hard lesson.  She received in the mail recently a letter exclaiming she was a lucky lottery winner.  The letter read, “On behalf of the Virgin Island Lottery held Dec. 3, 2006, we are pleased to inform you that you are one of the lucky winners in the second category…”  The member was told she had won the sum of $50,000.  She was provided a claim number and a check in the amount of $2,900, for which she was to cash and wire a portion of it back to a processing office to finalize her claim.   The member complied, only to discover later that the check was fraudulent and she was out the money. 

According to the Virgin Island Daily News, this credit union member is not the only victim.  In its Feb. 27 addition, the publication reports that this particular scam is targeting U.S. residents and bilking thousands of dollars from them with fraudulent claims that they won a lottery in the Virgin Islands.

A financial institution in Houston reports that scam artists are apparently using fraudulent cashier’s checks with its name on it.  The institution says its has received about 10 phone calls from various other financial institutions across the country attempting to confirm the validity of the checks.

The Virgin Island Daily News reports that the Virgin Island Lottery scheme is not affiliated with the V.I. Lottery, which awards prizes only to people who purchase tickets and win drawings.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cautions that most promotions for foreign lotteries are likely to be phony.  The FTC has these words of caution for consumers who are thinking about responding to a foreign lottery:

• If you play a foreign lottery — through the mail or over the telephone — you’re violating federal law.
• There are no secret systems for winning foreign lotteries. Your chances of winning more than the cost of your tickets are slim to none.
• If you purchase one foreign lottery ticket, expect many more bogus offers for lottery or investment “opportunities.”  Your name will be placed on “sucker lists” that fraudulent telemarketers buy and sell.
• Keep your credit card and checking account numbers to yourself.  Scam artists often ask for them during an unsolicited sales pitch.

The bottom line, according to the FTC: Ignore all mail and phone solicitations for foreign lottery promotions.  If you receive what looks like lottery material from a foreign country, give it to your local postmaster.

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