Released: July 19, 2006

Don’t be fooled by bogus lottery scams

Source: By Candace Heckman, Seattle Post Intelligencer

Scammers these days are getting more and more convincing - especially the ones who claim you’ve won a prize and even send a “certified cashier’s check.”

Paulette Uto got a letter recently postmarked from Malaga, Spain, claiming that she had won a “third-tier” lottery prize of 615,810 euros (roughly equivalent to $770,000 today). The letter didn’t ask for any money, just for more of Uto’s personal information, including her bank account number.

Question: This is a scam, right? Answer: It most certainly is a scam. Not only is it illegal to solicit or run any type of foreign lottery business, it could also be illegal to participate.

Federal law prohibits conducting any lottery or other game of chance through the mail, online or by telephone. Additionally, it is illegal for anyone to go overseas to procure a lottery ticket for someone else in the United States.

Basically, if people want to participate in a lottery, they have to go and buy a ticket themselves, said Kristin Alexander in the state Attorney General’s Office.

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