Lottery scam creeps into Peach

Thursday, March 16, 2006 posted 09:45 AM EST

FORT VALLEY - A scam similar to one that targeted Perry residents earlier this month has now popped up in Peach County.

Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese said he has received two complaints from elderly residents who lost large sums of money in a lottery or sweepstakes scam.

One victim lost $2,100 and the second was taken for $6,000, the sheriff said.

The scam uses letters mailed to people, promising a lottery or sweepstakes cash prize and includes a bogus check, Deese said.

In one of the Peach County cases, the letter promised winnings of $282,280 and included a check for $4,800, Deese said. The letter included a telephone number to call to get a claim number for the rest of the winnings and to validate the check, he said.

When the number is called, the recipient is asked to deposit the check and to send a processing fee or taxes for release of the rest of the money.

The victim of the scam figures that since the check that was received is for $4,800, it's no big deal to send $2,000 in taxes in the mail to get many thousands in return. However, the check turns out to be a forgery, Deese said.

When the checks are brought to a bank, a teller may be alerted to the scam if the recipient happens to mention that the winnings are from a lottery or sweepstakes, Deese said.

But most often the recipient, who may have banked there a long time and be known to the tellers, volunteers nothing about the source of the check and nothing is suspected, the sheriff said.

Then days or even weeks later, the check is found to be fraudulent, but the recipient already has sent off the requested "fees" or "taxes," Deese said.

Recently, a Perry woman lost $1,500 in a bogus lottery scam. That incident and complaints of similar scams prompted Perry police to issue a consumer warning.

For information on such scams, visit the Federal Trade Commission's Web site at www.ftc.gov

To contact the Peach County Sheriff's Office, call (478) 825-5144. To contact the Perry Police Departmen, call (478) 988-2826.

Related Links
	Lottery News & Stories
	Latest Results
	Search Past Winning Numbers