Sweepstakes Scam Alert

(HURON COUNTY, ON) – Winning a large sweepstakes prize is a dream come true for many people. However, that dream can quickly turn into a nightmare if the win notification is a sweepstakes scam. Scammers can dupe you out of thousands of dollars if you fall for this common scam. A senior from Huron County is one such victim. She responded to an initial “sweepstakes win” by sending in a nominal payment. Her prize never came. She continued to respond to weekly “sweepstakes wins” for several months however the big payoff of millions of dollars was just a false promise.

Learn how to recognize the top warning signs of a sweepstakes scam to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.

Sweepstakes scams require you to pay to receive a prize. Never pay handling fees or service charges to collect a win.
Sweepstakes scams using free E-mail accounts. Be suspicious of a win notice that has been sent to your inbox from a free email account such as Gmail or Hotmail.
Sweepstakes scams that instruct you to wire money. Scammers generally use services like Western Union because it is very difficult to trace who received the money.
Sweepstakes scams that pressure you to act in a hurry. You should always be given a reasonable amount of time to investigate the win notification.
These scammers often don’t use your name. Many sweepstakes scammers send thousands upon thousands of fake emails to every address the can get their hands on. If your win notice has a generic salutation such as “Dear Sir/Madam” it’s probably a scam.
If your “win” is from a lottery be very suspicious. It is impossible to win a lottery without buying a ticket. If your lottery win is from a foreign country it is a sure sign of a scam.
Sweepstakes scams that contain glaring typos. Many of the common scams originate outside of Canada where the command of English is sometimes poor.

Don’t become a victim of a scam. Listen to your good judgment and if it’s too good to be true it probably isn’t.

To learn more about common frauds and how to report a fraud you can contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre.ca or 1-888-495-8501

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