Sun Feb 12 2012
by Mike Sever
Record-Courier Reporter
Ravenna -- The letter contained a check worth $3,850 and promised much more, but George Dunckel knew it was too good to be true.
"The envelope was mailed in Canada, the check is from a Minnesota company but drawn on a bank in Van Wert, and the letter has a New York address. I assumed it was a scam," Dunckel said.
The Ravenna businessman is one of about a thousand Ohioans to get a letter and check from a fake sweepstakes recently.
Attorney General Richard Cordray said the state has been hit by a scourge of sweepstakes scams since January, generally targeting older persons.
"The number of sweepstakes scams reported in Ohio is on course to double this year," Cordray said. "Unfortunately, senior citizens are most vulnerable to these sophisticated deceptions.
"We are seeing tragic instances of trusting consumers, particularly seniors, falling into a trap where they wind up turning over not only their personal information but thousands of dollars.
"Our best defense against these scam artists is to increase awareness and community vigilance."
In Dunckel's case, the letter said he was entitled to $50,500 as part of a "customer compensation lottery" put on by major stores in the U.S. and Canada.
All he had to do was pay the taxes on the win by depositing the $3,850.50 check and mailing back a new check for the $2,700 tax payment.
The letter instructs the "winner" to call a claims agent at a telephone number in Toronto, Canada.
The attorney general's office has received 919 sweepstakes scam reports to-date in 2010; well past the 622 complaints received last year and double the 447 in 2008.
Anyone who suspects they or someone they know has fallen victim to a scam may file a complaint with the attorney general's office through www.SpeakOutOhio.gov or by calling 800-282-0515, or notify local law enforcement.
Cordray is providing the following tips to avoid sweepstakes scams:
* Do not send money to collect a sweepstakes or prize. If you have to pay to collect your winnings, then you did not actually win.
* Be extremely skeptical of anyone who asks you to send money to Canada, Jamaica or other foreign countries.
* Don't trust individuals who contact you unexpectedly and who ask you to wire transfer money, even for a contest or prize.
* Beware of "recovery scams." Fraudulent telemarketers may contact victims posing as the police or other governmental representatives. They lie, often by saying they have recovered the victims' lost sweepstakes money and asking the victims to send more money to receive it.
E-mail: msever@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-296-9657
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