New Twist on Sweepstakes Scams
Monday July 16, 2007
ConsumerAffairs.com has reported about a new twist to the old "pay money to receive your winnings" sweepstakes scam. The scammers telephone claiming to be from the "Washington DC Office of Consumer Affairs" and tell victims that they've won the Publisher's Clearinghouse sweepstakes. All you have to do is respond within 24 hours to receive a massive cash prizes.
These people are very professional and convincing. You can call them back at their toll-free number, have the telephone answered by an employee who says that you've reached the Department of Consumer Affairs, and speak to (supposedly) the same person you spoke to the first time, or who left a message on your answering machine.
Note that this ruse violates a number of the Top Signs that Your Win is Really a Sweepstakes Scam:
- You have to pay to receive your prize.
- You are rushed into making a decision (you have to respond within 48 hours to receive your money)
- The notification is from a "government organization."
As much as we all dream of winning big sweepstakes, it is easy to want to believe someone who sounds confident and trustworthy. However, staying smart and checking to see if a win fits the signs of a scam will keep you safe and protect you from being scammed out of your money.
Comments
If you have received a sweeps scam lottery letter does that mean the scammers now have your identy. Should I be worried?
Hello, Diane, great question! The answer is – not really. Usually they just blanket email addresses, regular addresses, and phone numbers with scam attempts – that information is publicly available, and scammers can’t do much with it other than hassle you. It’s the sensitive information like bank account numbers, social security numbers, etc. that are really dangerous.
If you respond to a scam, scammers will oftentimes mark you as an easy target and sell your information on to other scammers, which can be a bigger hassle.
And it’s always a good idea to check your credit report regularly and pay attention to anything that looks like an attempt at ID theft. For more information, read about how to protect yourself from identity theft.
In fact, it’s such a great question that I turned it into an article to help others. Thanks again!
hi
i think this educate peopple alot about the scams. i too learned alot from this. i found it very helping,
thanks