It’s one thing to spend a few dollars once in a blue moon when the Powerball prize is almost a billion dollars, but it’s a whole other matter to spend a few dollars, and then a few more and then maybe a lot more to enter nefarious sweepstakes and foreign lotteries on a regular basis.
A friend who regularly checks in on an elderly neighbor said she is concerned that he is whittling away at his nest egg by entering so many sweepstakes.
She has reason to be concerned. Seniors continue to be swindled by sweepstakes scams that require a small fee to be sent, usually via wire service, in order to collect their prize. The number of such scams increased 5 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The U.S. Special Committee on Aging recently investigated the Jamaican lottery scam, and found con artists placed 30,000 phone calls daily to the U.S. and stole $300 million per year from tens of thousands of seniors.
As in all sweepstakes and lottery scams, the Jamaican scammers tell potential victims they have won the lottery or a brand new car and they must pay an upfront fee to cover processing and/or taxes. The fee, victims are told, can be paid via wire service, prepaid debit cards, money orders or even hard, cold cash.
Once you enter a sweepstakes – even just for fun one time – your name, your address and your phone number are added to lead lists, which are bought and sold time and again. Before you know it your mailbox is stuffed with sweepstakes offers and your phone rings off the hook.
How can you protect yourself and your loved ones? BBB advises:
• Keep in mind that the letter or phone call announcing you won a sweepstakes or lottery that you didn’t enter is bogus. It’s simple as that.
• Don’t provide personal or financial information to anyone you don’t know.
• Legitimate prizes don’t come with strings attached, such as upfront processing fees to be paid via wire service or prepaid debit cards (neither can be traced later).
Start With Trust®. For more consumer tips and information, go to bbb.org.
~ Luanne Kadlub, Communications Specialist, BBB Serving Northern Colorado and Wyoming. 970-488-2044, Toll Free: 800-564-0370 Ext. 135, wynco.bbb.org