Lottery Scam Resurfaces

June 1, 2007

The YMCA of Coastal Georgia has contacted the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs to report that a scammer has created fake checks linked to YMCA’s bank account, which are then being used in a lottery scam. The scam, which first appeared in 2005, involves a solicitation and checks that claim to be from the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, which is a legitimate lottery company based in Canada.

The letter notifies the recipient that he has won anywhere from $35,000 to $200,000 or more and that the enclosed check (generally in the amount of $4900) is a first installment of the winnings. The recipient is instructed to send $2,823 of that amount to a location in Canada to cover taxes and fees, with the understanding that once that money has been received the winner will receive the balance of his prize money.

Of course, since it is a scam, the winnings never come, the check received from the “lottery company” turns out to be a fake, and the victim realizes he has been swindled out of the money that he sent abroad.

Consumers are advised that a legitimate lottery, sweepstakes or promotion will never require you to send money in order to collect a prize you won. If you are asked to do that, you know it’s a scam. Also keep in mind that lottery tickets are always sold anonymously and tracked by the lottery ticket number, not the name of the purchaser. Therefore, a lottery company would never try to contact a winner via the mail. And while it may sound obvious, you can’t win if you didn’t purchase a ticket, so don’t let the promise of a windfall fool you into responding to a scam.

Finally, remember that it is a violation of federal law to sell or purchase foreign lottery tickets. So if you are notified that you won a foreign lottery, you know it cannot be legitimate. If you receive a foreign lottery solicitation in the mail, send it to your local postal inspector.

If you have been the victim of an international lottery scam, contact the following authorities:

National Fraud Information Center at 1-800-876-7060
Phonebusters (for scams originating in Canada) at 1-888-495-8501 or www.phonebusters.com, or
Your local postal inspector

For additional information, please contact the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs at 404-656-3790.

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