The FBI’s cyber crime center IC3 continues to receive reports of consumers receiving letters and emails declaring them as winners of sweepstakes and lottery schemes.
These schemes employ counterfeit checks that have legitimate-looking logos of financial institutions to fool victims into sending money to the fraudsters. Crooks tell victims they won a sweepstakes or lottery, but to receive a lump sum payout, they must pay the taxes and processing fees upfront.
The letter also includes a check in the amount of the alleged taxes and fees, along with processing instructions.
The victim deposits the check into their own bank, which credits the account for the amount of the check before the check clears. The victim then immediately withdraws the money and wires it to the fraudsters.
Afterward, the check turns out to be bogus and the bank pulls the respective funds from the victim’s account, leaving him or her liable for the amount of the counterfeit check plus any additional fees that may have occurred. [Date: 1 December 2010; Source: http://www.thenewnewinternet.com/2010/12/01/fbi-warns- consumers-about-bogus-lottery-notifications/]
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