This scheme, which topped our list in 2006, falls to number three this year, but continues to claim thousands of victims who have lost millions of dollars. Canadian scammers this year came up with something new -- a phony lottery in which "winners" are chosen from among local utility company customers.
In one such scam a company called “Capital One Corp.,” based in Massachusetts, sends a letter claiming that the recipient has won $50,000 through a random drawing based on account numbers of local utility customers.
As with many of these scams, a check is enclosed for a portion of the "winnings," in this case about $4,000. The recipient is urged to keep the prize secret, and to call an enclosed phone number for more details about their winnings.
Unfortunately, the check is a counterfeit, copied from a legitimate bank in Massachusetts.
Despite the American address posted at the top of the letter, a listed “branch office” and the included phone number can both be traced to Canada, the origin of many foreign-lottery scams.
Anyone who calls the number will likely be instructed to deposit the phony check and wire money to help process their prize. This is the classic hook of a lottery scam. A anyone who sends money will lose the money they send and will soon learn the check they cashed was phony. A prize? Don't think so. Consumers who remember that it is impossible to win a lottery or sweepstakes they didn’t enter are much less likely to get burned.
While many of these lottery scams are remarkably similar, one especially brazen con man set himself apart when he included an impersonation of Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson as part of his scheme. In August Edmondson received a complaint from a consumer who was notified she had won $800,000 in a Reader’s Digest lottery. She then received a call from someone purporting to be the Attorney General, who said he could verify the legitimacy of her winnings.
“We are investigating this scam, and if we are able to track this con man down, it’s a sure bet he will get more than a call from the attorney general’s office,” Edmondson said. "He will get to meet one of our investigators face to face.”
4. Craigslist Scam
This one could also be called the Thrifty Nickel Scam, or classified ad scam, but with craigslist becoming the classified ad medium of choice, the online service is also becoming the scammer’s vehicle of choice.
The scam almost always works like this: someone renting an apartment or selling a big ticket item will be contacted by an interested party from out of town. Without any haggling, the buyer/renter sends a large check – much more than required. The victim is told to deduct the asking price and then pay an additional expense. In the case of the purchase of a piano, they are told to pay the shipping – then wire the balance back to the other party.
The large check is counterfeit, but that’s usually not discovered until the victim wires the money, which can’t be recovered. The scam has become so common that craigslist has a page on its site warning users to avoid these scams.
Most scams involve one or more of the following, according to the Web site:
• inquiry from someone far away, often in another country
• Western Union, Money Gram, cashier's check, money order, shipping, escrow service, or a "guarantee"
• inability or refusal to meet face-to-face before consummating the transaction.
When someone says craigslist will guarantee the transaction, it’s a dead giveaway that you’re dealing with a scammer. The company says it never has any role in any transaction.
