I don't see much difference between these scam artist and the people representing your credit card that call and say they have a "free gift" for you.

I agree (a little) but I still think you are comparing apples and oranges. I think getting a letter stating you've won a lottery in Canada or Jamaica when you've never been to either country should be a clue. The credit card offers I've gotten are real.  You just need to always do your due diligence and make sure something is legitimate before giving out personal information.  No credit card company would call you and ask for your social security number for example. You get something in the mail with a toll free number and an offer code which identifies you. Chase & Citi have some nice offers with 0% interest for 15 months and a free gift. I just received one of those cards a few weeks ago.

I've also gotten numerous phishing emails that look so real it's frightening, but when you stop and think "How could my account be frozen? That makes no sense. I should drive over there" or "How can my bank lose my account number? I better call them" you won't get scammed.  I get emails from people pretending to be eBay and PayPal all the time.  I used to check my account to make sure it's okay, but now I don't bother and just delete the emails.

The phone calls I get are from the people that got my credit card info from the banks that issued me my cards. It's different than the special offers you get with your statement or offers for new cards.

You get a call that starts out by saying "because you are a valued costumer, we will send you a free gift for examining things like travel, card thief, or illness insurance for 30 days at no cost to you". They go on to tell you that if you choose to accept the offer, your credit card will be billed later. What they don't tell you is that your card will be billed before they send you anything and you have 30 days to call a toll free number and cancel it.

It's not on the same scale as getting a bogus $3600 check in the mail but these "free offers" could cost people a couple hundred dollars if they are not careful. I've deposited checks that are on my balance at the end of the business day but I don't know how long it takes before money the money is exchanged between two banks. If the check doesn't clear, the amount is deducted from your account. The scammers' knowledge of bank processes coupled with gullible people is why this scam works.

I use a separate Visa debit card for online transactions, keep a low balance and deposit money into the account before making the purchase.

That's a wise thing to do.  I am trying to stop the offers I get in the mail.  I don't want these "write yourself a check" offers to get into the wrong hands. 

Has anyone ever called you to say "Congratulations.  You've won a Cadillac Escalade!"  I've gotten at least 3 of those calls.  I never entered any such contest. Then he says to me "Oh, don't you remember being on (some web site) and entering a contest? I can see why some people might stop to consider it.   I found a couple of online discussions about the same scam.  I think it's just a way to get people to drive to a timeshare presentation, not to steal your identity, but they must be getting my phone number from something I've filled out, although I rarely use my home phone online.

I just don't know why people can be so gullable to think they won something in a foreign country.  It's like people falling for those work at home websites or something.  It just sounds way too fishy to me.

 get these types of emails daily but I trash them and thats what everyone else should do!!

well the biggest 649 winning ticket happened to be in Alberta 54 Million to a group.... (I don't like lottery groups rather see a sole winner)

however the reason that more winners in Ontario and Quebec is because there are alot more people in those provinces than there are in other provinces.... 

If you've won a Canadian Lottery then you would have a Canadian Lottery Ticket........ not a letter in the mail....

and Canada does not notify you that you've won the lottery you have to go to one of their offices just like in the states and present the ticket and answer the questions and such......

Only difference is that you get the lump sum full prize value amount and it's tax free if you are a canadian citizen.....

US should adopt that on Mega Millions and Powerball or stop giving those decieving ceremonial checks..... at least have it what the person is actually getting....  if they only are getting 29million after taxes put that not 95 million geesh.  talk about false advertizing.

How I got rid of those scam letters.

I have a form letter that I use.

Dear ___ ,

Thank you for informing me of my astounding winnings of__________. To be utterly frank, that is more money than I would ever need. So here's my deal. Instead of sending $49.95 to you to process my winnings, kindly keep 25% of my winnings and send me the balance. 

No doubt you must realize this is an offer you can't refuse.

Awaiting my check.

I haven't received another scam letter in years. 

That's a brillant idea, Fibonacci!  Although, I must admit I am feeling left out as I have never received one of those letters.