Stop Senior Scams: Avoid lottery letdowns
By Jeremy Rodriguez
You receive a call from a company stating that you won a vacation getaway to an exotic location. But there’s a catch. Before you can claim your trip, you must send the company money. The resort supposedly needs your banking information on file to book the trip, and the company will reimburse you in 24 hours.
One day passes, and you don’t hear from the company. Worse yet, your trip hasn’t been booked. You have been the victim of a sweepstakes scam.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns consumers to be on the lookout for the following three signs of a prize scam.
If you are told that you have to pay money upfront to receive your prize, as mentioned in the example above, it is surely a scam. No legitimate raffle, sweepstakes or lottery would require the winner to pay taxes, processing fees or other charges before they can claim a prize.
A purchase or payment of any kind does not increase your chances of winning. Sweepstakes are free, and it is actually illegal to ask someone to pay to increase the odds of winning.
There’s no need to provide your financial information to claim a prize. Do not provide your credit card number or bank account information.
Scammers will try to trick you by stating they represent the government or another reputable organization, like the Pennsylvania Lottery. If this happens to you, hang up and call the organization directly to verify the information. You can also look up the organization’s name online, along with the terms “contest” or “scam,” to see if other people have been victims of fraud.
The FTC says to keep a few things in mind about real contests and prizes. It is illegal to ask contest winners for money. It is also required by law for sweepstakes sponsors to tell you that entry is free, what the prize(s) are, the prize value, the odds of winning, and how to claim the prize. Additionally, sweepstakes mailings must specifically say that payment is not required to participate.
If you believe you have been the victim of a scam and want your money back, contact your bank, credit card company or wire transfer company to inform them about the fraudulent charge. If the scam involved gift cards, contact the company and inform them that they were purchased in a scam. Keep the physical gift card and the receipt.
You should also report the scam to the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If the prize promotion came in the mail, also report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 or uspis.gov/report. Furthermore, you can contact Philadelphia Corporation for Aging’s Older Adult Protective Services unit to report financial exploitation or fraud at 215-765-9040.
Jeremy Rodriguez is a freelance journalist, blogger, editor and podcaster.
