If It Sounds Too Good to Be True....

QUESTION: An elderly aunt informed me that she received a call a few months ago telling her that she had won two million dollars but she had to pay the taxes before she could collect her money. 

My aunt told me that she made a series of payments totaling over $20,000 but has not received her winnings. When she stopped payments, the sweepstakes representative actually called her and threatened court action.

After some investigating, we found this to be a scam. Can you offer any advice for people to avoid being swindled like my aunt was?

ANSWER: Unfortunately, we receive reports of these types of incidents all too often. Con artists prey on the elderly with easy money or get-rich-quick schemes that include calls that tell them they’ve won the lottery or some official sounding sweepstakes contest.

In order to help all residents avoid being the victims of these scams, the would like to provide the following information from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 

More information can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/phonefraud/sweepstakes.shtml.

If you get a phone call or a letter with a message telling you you’ve won money or other valuable prizes, be skeptical. Scam artists often use the promise of a valuable prize or award to entice consumers to send money, buy overpriced products or services, or contribute to bogus charities.

People who fall for their ploys may end up paying more and more for the products, if they ever get them at all.

How to avoid prize and sweepstakes fraud. The next time you get a "personal" telephone call or letter telling you "it's your lucky day," remember:

Don't pay to collect sweepstakes winnings. If you have to pay to collect your winnings, you're not winning, you’re buying. Legitimate sweepstakes don't require you to pay "insurance," "taxes," or "shipping and handling charges" to collect your prize.

Hold on to your money. Scammers pressure people to wire money through commercial money transfer companies because wiring money is the same as sending cash. 

When the money's gone, there's very little chance of recovery. Likewise, resist any push to send a check or money order by overnight delivery or courier. Con artists recommend these services so they can get to your money before you realize you've been cheated.

Phone numbers can deceive. Some con artists use Internet technology to call you. It allows them to disguise their area code: although it may look like they're calling from your local area, they could be calling from anywhere in the world.

Also be leery of fake check scams: It's your lucky day! You just won a foreign lottery! The caller says so. And they are sending a cashier's check to cover the taxes and fees.

All you have to do to get your winnings is deposit the check and wire the money to the sender to pay the taxes and fees. You're guaranteed that when they get your payment, you'll get your prize.

There's just one catch: This is a scam. The check is no good, even though it appears to be a legitimate cashier's check. The lottery angle is a trick to get you to wire money to someone you don't know. 

If you were to deposit the check and wire the money, your bank would soon learn that the check was a fake and you would be out the money.  The money you wired can't be recovered, and you're responsible for the checks you deposit, even though you don't know they're fake.

If you feel that someone is trying to scam you or someone you know, do not hesitate to contact the Grafton Police Department. Most importantly…always remember: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Anyone with questions for the Chief’s Column may submit them by mail to the Grafton Police Department, 28 Providence Road, Grafton, MA 01519. You may also email your questions or comments to chief@graftonpolice.com. Please include an appropriate subject line, as I do not open suspicious email for obvious reasons. 

Normand A. Crepeau, Jr. is Grafton’s chief of police.