(Cavan-Monaghan Township, ON) – Peterborough County Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) would like to make area residents aware of the “Lottery Scam”. Suspects send mass emails and tell people that they “won the lottery”. In order for the victim to claim their prize money they have to pay a fee or a tax.
In the most recent case, an area man paid $6000 to scammers. He will not receive any prize money.
The OPP would like to offer a few tips on how not to be a victim of this kind of fraud:
Be skeptical of any offer that arrives via email, Facebook or any other type of social media.
If it’s too good to be true; then it probably is.
You can’t win a lottery that you did not enter.
Be suspicious of anyone that asks for money or personal information online.
Legitimate lotteries will never ask a winner to pay any fees up front (like taxes or a security deposit) to receive a prize, lottery or sweepstake
The Ontario Provincial Police is committed to public safety, delivering proactive and innovative policing in partnership with our communities.
Peterborough County OPP values your contribution to building safe communities. If you have information about suspected unlawful activity, please visit Crime Stoppers at: www.stopcrimehere.ca or call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477)