LEWISTOWN — Mifflin County Regional Police are warning area residents to be careful regarding letters stating winners have won international lotteries.
Police said they are receiving “a high volume of complaints” regarding the letters.
Typically, the scam artists will send letters of congratulations as well as banker’s checks from fake lottery companies, police said.
The “winner” is then asked to deposit the check and send an amount of money to the supposed lottery agency to collect their winnings.
The checks are forgeries or fakes and thus the recipient becomes liable for the amount returned to the false lottery agency.
Because of the possibility of criminal charges, police are asking people to be cautious when receiving letters regarding lotteries.
When an area resident receives a letter stating he or she has won a lottery, police said recipients should ask the following questions:
= Is the lottery from outside the country?
= Do you have to pay money to receive your winnings?
If the answer to either question is “yes,” then police said they are strongly suggesting recipients rip up and throw away the letters and checks.
Another simple rule of thumb often cited by law enforcement officials is “if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.”
Anyone seeking more information, or seeking to report a possible scam, should contact their local police department.
Mifflin County Regional Police can be reached at 248-1900; Granville Township Police at 242-2334; and Pennsylvania State Police at 320-1010.
For more information regarding scams, visit the Federal Trade Commission Web site at www.ftc.gov.
