Be leery of lottery scams

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 posted 12:17 PM EST

Don't be fooled by promises of lottery winnings accompanied by authentic-looking checks.

Officials in south-central and southwest Kansas are warning of a rash of letters falsely advising recipients they've won thousands of dollars but that to process the claims they first need to wire a percentage of the total to prize administrators. A Dodge City credit union official reports an upswing in the last couple months in the scheme, while police in Rolla and Argonia say people there also have been targeted.

"People are getting duped by it or will get duped by it," said Kent Hagman, who runs Rolla's one-man police department.

The letters typically are accompanied by what appears to be an authentic check, some even with a watermark. "Winners" are advised that there is more to be had but that they must first wire money to lottery administrators to cover fees or taxes.

Typically, the money the schemers seek is lower than the check amount, suggesting recipients will be able to pocket the difference. In the Rolla case, the recipient received a "check" for $3,890 and promises of an overall $68,700.43 prize. First, though, he had to wire $3,580 via a money transfer to cover an "administration fee."

The problem, says Charlene Figger, assistant vice president at the Credit Union of Dodge City, is that the checks, however real looking, are drawn on nonexistent accounts. That means if recipients deposit them in their accounts, funds won't be available to cover purchases made on the assumption of backing by the questionable checks. Similarly, if they go so far as to wire money as requested, that will be lost.

"It really preys on people's hopes and dreams that they won the lottery," Figger said. She said she's noticed the scheme for about a year, but that it seems to have intensified in the last couple months, prompting credit union officials to keep a sharp eye out for the questionable checks.

Hagman says there's no telling where the scheme's base is. The Rolla letter, which the man there received last week, had a return address in New Glasgow, Canada, and the "check" was drafted on a Florida bank. A similar letter that a woman in Argonia received in late October came from Vancouver, Canada, with a "check" written on an Arizona bank.

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