'You won $ 880 thousand': hundreds of New Yorkers fell victim to a fraudulent scheme
'07.12.2021'
Nurgul Sultanova-Chetin
New Yorkers receive letters trumpeting their victory in the supermarket shopper lottery, and their prize is $ 880. New York Post.
The congratulatory letter includes a realistic-looking $ 8000 first payment check. The letter asks for a $ 7000 handling fee to make the remaining “payout”.
But this “golden ticket” is nothing more than a scam. And gullible people who are the victims of fraud find themselves in the fools by paying bank fees after the “winning” check fails.
The letter assures that "a bank-certified cashier's receipt for [prize] has already been prepared in your name and is awaiting approval."
Don't fall for the bait
The first signal that this is a scam is that the dollar amounts do not add up. The first paragraph of the letter says that unexpected gain is 880 dollars.
Later, under the heading "Important Information", the winnings are listed in the amount of $ 960. In this case, the first payment will allegedly be an enclosed check for $ 000 dollars, and the next one - $ 7. Together they will not amount to $ 998,23.
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In the letter “to the winner"It is also recommended to call the manager and" protect your payout information to avoid delay or even cancellation of your winnings. " Do not do this under any circumstances - this is how scammers try to steal your personal data.
Fraud Complaints Rise
The state attorney general's office has received 172 lottery fraud complaints since 2019. There were 2021 complaints in 46, said Fabien Levy, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) receives hundreds of thousands of fraud complaints every year. In the first nine months of 2021, the FTC received 3 complaints from New Yorkers about prize / sweepstakes / lottery fraud. Jay Mayfield, a spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission, spoke about this. This is 856% more than the 30 complaints filed in the same period in 2, Mayfield said.
Nationally, the FTC received 2021 complaints in the first nine months of 109. This is 550% more than in 26. During the same period last year, the commission received 2020 complaints.
According to consumer advice published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) when “you have to pay to get your prize” is a clear fraud.
