Las Vegas Lottery scam targets Plymouth woman

Friday, March 03, 2006 posted 05:53 PM EST

Plymouth, IN - A Las Vegas Lottery scam Contact 16 first warned you about last year is hitting Michiana again.

The recent target was a Plymouth woman.

Unexpected letter

Joan Hill is retired and loves taking care of her great grandson.

"My family is not wealthy,” she said.

So when Joan received an official looking-letter, "It has a seal on here and the whole works" stating she won over three million dollars, "I was real excited."

But the letter told Joan she was officially sworn to secrecy.

"I thought geez whiz the first thing people want to do when they get a letter like this is tell the whole world,” said Joan.

In the fine print, Joan found she would have to pay a $20 fee to collect her winnings.

“It would be taken electronically out of my checking account."

Knowing this didn't seem right, Joan called Contact 16.

"I thought maybe you could find out so that people wouldn't be taken advantage of," she told Contact 16.

Contact 16 first warned you about this mailing from "Las Vegas Nevada Actionable Award Program" last year. The business has a history of complaints with the Las Vegas Better Business Bureau.

Consumers sent in their fee, only to discover they didn't win the money at all.

"I think it’s too bad that people like this take advantage of somebody that already has a need," said Joan.

Joan did not send in the money, but says this kind of scam letter plays on your emotions.

“If you have a family you're thinking, oh boy I can help them, they can get their bills paid and have a nice house and live without worries," she said.

Just a reminder: It is illegal to require payment of a fee in order to collect any prize that has been won.

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