Police warn of possible lottery scam

Friday, October 13, 2006 posted 03:25 AM EDT



So when Simmons, 74, received a letter in the mail informing him that he had won the Australian Lottery, he knew it was a scam.

"I didn’t fall for that nonsense," Simmons said Wednesday. "I recognized it for what it was."

The letter, which is not dated, stated that Simmons was one of 50 finalists and had won $455,000.

The notification also requests that “you are required to keep this award confidential until all participants have been confirmed.” This is to avoid "double claiming."

Enclosed in the letter was also a check for $2,950.00 made out to Simmons from Pacer Global Logistic in Dublin, Ohio, which is to help with processing and insurance fees. In return, Simmons was asked to send the lottery $2,800.

Simmons did a little digging into the letter and check. He discovered that the check is from a legitimate business and that the business owners knew nothing about the check being issued.

Global Logistics officials posted an alert on the company’s Web site informing the public that the sweepstakes is a fraud and that the checks accompanied with the letter are bogus.

"This notice and the associated sweepstakes are fraudulent. The accompanying check was not authorized by Pacer Global Logistics and will not be paid," an alert on the Web site says.

False sweepstakes like these are nothing new to the area, Brownsville police Lt. James Paschall said, adding that individuals who run these scams tend to prey on the elderly.

"Unfortunately, people actually believe these are legitimate," he said. "It’s a tragic event especially for people on fixed incomes."

Paschall said police have not yet received reports about the Australian Lottery but urges anyone who receives a letter in the mail similar to the one Simmons’ received to contact authorities.

"We work with the Secret Service" on cases like this, Paschall said.

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