LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Police in Kingman, Ariz. are warning people to be on the lookout for a sweepstakes scam. The scam, according to police, involves a letter informing the receiver that they have won sweepstakes. The letter tells the person they were entered because they used a credit card at one of the many stores listed.
In the example police shared online, the “winner” can claim a prize of $880,000. But first, all they have to do is mail in a check to cover processing fees, but to cover those fees the company has also included a check and asks the “winner” to deposit it in their bank account.
Once a person does this, writes, and mails a check it’s too late. By now the bank should have blocked the deposited check because it is fake, and since the outgoing check is a real check being sent out of the country the victim is now out of that money. In the case of the example police provided, that’s $5,596.
The old adage holds true, if it seems too good to be true it probably is.