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Lottery scam still pops up

Mrs. Smith (fictitious name) told us she recently received what appears to be a form letter from "The National Lottery (In Conjunction With Blanchard Contractors, Inc)." It states that she is the "lucky winner in the World International Consumers Sweepstake to be held in the United Kingdom on the 13th of May 2013." The letter informed Mrs. Smith that her name was randomly selected from a computer database. She became part of the database when she or a household member shopped at a North American department store using a credit or debit card and was the winner of $135,000.

Enclosed was a valid-appearing check in the amount of $3,750, which was deducted from her prize money. She was asked to pay a nonresident tax of $1,750 and a $930 processing fee. She was instructed to deposit the check in her bank and draw funds from it to pay $2,680 for the tax and fees. She then was to contact her "claims agents for further directives." The two payments were to be made only through Western Union Money transfer and Money Gram. She was told that after she completed making the payments she would receive a second check (delivered by FedEx) which would be the balance of her $135,000.

Of course, she won nothing, and if had she chosen to follow the given instructions, she would have ended up losing $2,680.

Though the sweepstakes scam is an old one, people are still falling for it; otherwise it would no longer be making its rounds in our area as well as many other parts of the United States. The scammer just chose the name of a reputable, existing company to print on the check (Blanchard Contractors Inc.) hoping people would recognize the name and know that it is a good company thus the victim-to-be may more likely fall for this scam ... but fortunately the scam.

Watch out for this mystery shopper offer

In a tough economy, consumers are trying to find some work to help pay their bills. There have been reports of college students being reeled in by online "Mystery Shopping" opportunities, which involve receiving a check (counterfeit) and filling out a survey about the efficiency of Western Union's money-transfer services. Once the money is sent off and the bank figures out that the check is counterfeit, they go after the person who deposited it into his/her bank account. The bank has to get money from somewhere! The people receiving the money through Western Union service never identify themselves and most likely are operating in a foreign country, which makes it next to impossible for law enforcement to track.

BBB tip: Check with the BBB first to ensure that a mystery shopping opportunity is on the up and up.
