Kids Activities

Lottery scam letters are sent by email, regular mail, Federal Express, DHL, UPS etc. All available delivery methods are used. These letters inform recipients that they won a "lottery." The letter gives a date that the recipient must claim the prize/money by or the winnings are no longer valid. The letter uses a sense of urgency and stresses to keep this winning "Confidential." It appears to be sent from lawyers, claims agents, bankers, law enforcement agents, etc. The letter explains that the enclosed check will allow recipients to pay their processing fees that are associated with the prize or taxes.

Some phrases that you can find in the letter include:

• All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 30,000 names from Australia, New Zealand, America, Asia, Europe, Africa, USA and North America as part of our International Promotions Program, which will subsequently be conducted annually.
• Mention of any kind of claim agent.
• Due to the mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep this award strictly from public notice until your claim has been processed and your money remitted to your account. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by participants of this program.
• Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to disqualification.

The letter tells the recipient to deposit the check and send the money either back to them or on to another person. The letter will normally give the recipient a telephone number to call and during that call, they will receive other instructions on where to Western Union the money or Money Gram the money. The instructions are usually to Western Union the money to someone other than who is listed on the letter and to another State or Country from where the letter came from.

What do they want? Lottery scam letters are sent out by the thousands, every day. There are only two things the bad guys want: your money and your identity.

What will they say to get what they want? They will tell you whatever you want to hear. They will tell you whatever they feel you will believe. They will pretend to be lawyers, claim agents, bankers, law enforcement agents, people of high rank in the government, gaming officials, tax collectors, and any other title that will convince you that they are good people.

Lottery Scam letters are sent by email, regular mail, Federal Express, DHL, UPS, etc. All available delivery methods are used.

Legitimate Lotteries, free lotteries (also known as Sweepstakes) never, NEVER ask for money. They do not have to. There are no fees of any kind. If you really won a lottery or Sweepstakes, the only money you owe is the tax you personally pay directly to your government. This tax is never paid through anyone else or by anyone else. This is true in every country.

All letters received, along with the envelopes they came in, regardless of the delivery method, are to be taken to the nearest Post Office: ATTN: US Postal Inspector.