Protecting Your Information
Note: Never send personal information via email.
Warning: Sweepstakes and lottery winning promotions
Some individuals have received information claiming they have "won" a sweepstakes or lottery, without entering the contest or lottery. More than likely these are scams, and a con artist is attempting to get money or personal information from you. View the list of indications of fraud and the examples of these types of fraud below:
Indications of Fraud:
- Did not enter sweepstakes or lottery.
- Lottery is in a foreign country, in some areas it is illegal to enter into a foreign lottery.
- You are asked to contact an agent to get instructions for collecting your winnings, be careful if you respond you may receive additional winning notices.
- You are instructed to deposit a check at your bank and wire money back to cover fees, taxes, or legal expenses.
- You are asked to send your personal bank information over the Internet, phone or mail.
- As the saying goes, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
Should you receive one of these checks please bring the check and any documentation into your local office to have the check examined to see if it is legitimate.
Example #1
WIDESPREAD COUNTERFEIT CASHIER'S CHECK SCAM
Richard Abbott, COO at Bank of Lancaster, Kilmarnock, Va., has provided a heads-up on a virulent cashier's check scam involving a foreign entity called "Golden International Sweepstakes." It works like this: Consumers receive a cashier's check drawn against a bank along with a letter instructing them to call one of three phone numbers. When they call, they are instructed to buy a MoneyGram at Wal-Mart for $2,500 and send it to a provided address. Once they do that, they can cash the check and keep the remainder of the money. However, the cashier's check is invariably counterfeit and they lose the $2,500. This scam is so widespread that earlier this year the Insurance Corp. of British Columbia, North Vancouver, B.C., issued a consumer alert about Golden International Sweepstakes.