Lottery scams hard to resist for some

Comment #17

MIlottoplayer — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:51:27 GMT

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

Comment #16

Fibonacci — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 11:14:15 GMT

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.... [ More ]

Comment #15

manzplan — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 10:25:59 GMT

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... [ More ]

Comment #14

Dr Lottery — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 22:51:14 GMT

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

Comment #13

MIlottoplayer — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 22:43:00 GMT

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.

Comment #12

justxploring — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 23:18:59 GMT

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 d... [ More ]

Comment #11

Stack47 — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 22:15:28 GMT

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... [ More ]

Comment #10

justxploring — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:28:31 GMT

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 g... [ More ]

Comment #9

Stack47 — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:24:40 GMT

If I won money and drove to the Lottery Office, I certainly would expect to complete paperwork, show ID and have the 25% tax deducted.

In Ohio and in most states when you win $600 up to $5000, any lottery terminal agent can validate the ticket, fill out a form, and give you a voucher that you take to a designated bank for payment. Taxes are not deducted. The bank charges a $10 processing fee and that's what I meant about the Teller having no common sense because she wanted the 10 bucks befor... [ More ]

Comment #8

justxploring — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 06:15:44 GMT

Apparently she was either absent the day they taught common sense and to just deduct the fee and give me $2590 or she thought it was her job to hassle people.

Stack, how can you even compare what I wrote to your experience? You went to a bank! You didn't get something in an email telling you that you won a prize that you didn't even bet in the first place. I don't know if you are just trying to be argumentative or you're not using common sense by quoting me. In fact, I just read my po... [ More ]

Comment #7

LckyLary — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 01:29:44 GMT

Being a reader of this board, and being that I wouldn't trust a Lottery that I didn't have to enter to win, and because I'm not up to a trip to Canada to claim a prize.. I'd read it for its amusement value and I'd report it to authorities. Sometimes I get checks for $5 that are real but the fine print says you're signing up for a club of some kind that would charge your credit card $100 a year or thereabouts. It's such a common way to fool people. I suggest this, the US Post Office should send... [ More ]

Comment #6

RJOh — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:56:54 GMT

I think is was her job to hassle you.

The time I won $1500, I have to drive 14MI to a designated bank in the another town. When the teller checked my paper work she found my home address was missing. I started to write it in but she told me I would have to return to the store that verified my ticket and do it in front of the store owner. The store owner said I could have done it at the bank because she didn't need to know that information and since the signing was notarized by a bank emp... [ More ]

Comment #5

stavros — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:30:56 GMT

Exactly! Duh, if you didn't play it, how can you win it

Comment #4

Stack47 — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 20:38:46 GMT

and anyone who sends money to win money isn't using common sense.

The first time I hit the Pick-4 straight I had to fill out the paper work, get it notarized, and go to a designated bank to collect the $2600 in winnings. I knew there was a $10 fee at the bank but I didn't know that the teller would demand the fee up front. Apparently she was either absent the day they taught common sense and to just deduct the fee and give me $2590 or she thought it was her job to hassle people.

When pe... [ More ]

Comment #3

justxploring — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:12:28 GMT

It's a shame that people try to cheat others all the time. I realize a lot of people aren't too bright, and those seem to be the ones who are fooled all the time, but my heart goes out to them. I'll tell you why. I'm not sure it's only greed that creates victims. If anyone here knows what it's like to feel desperate, you understand how logic sometimes gets clouded by hope.

Still, I don't see how anyone who didn't buy a ticket in the first place can believe he won anything at all, and any... [ More ]

Comment #2

dvdiva — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 13:11:56 GMT

If you want to win the Canadian Lottery you have to go to Canada and buy a ticket. Although speaking from experience it had better be from Ontario since that's where all the winning tickets seem to be sold.

Comment #1

Raven62 — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 08:52:52 GMT

If I Won: Don't Send a Letter: Just Send the Money! LOL

Lottery scams hard to resist for some

Lottery Post — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 02:46:32 GMT

What if you got home today and found a letter in your mailbox telling you that you won thousands of dollars in a Canadian lottery?

It sounds like great news, but it's actually a scam that's costing Americans millions of dollars every year.

Too Good To Be True

This is the scam we get the most calls and e-mails about. And it's very convincing because the letter comes with a check that looks real.

So a Pennsylvania TV news crew went to Canada to find out how the scam works and where you... [ More ]