HARRISBURG — Attorney General Tom Corbett warned Pennsylvania consumers about the continuing surge of fake check scams, including lottery and sweepstakes scams, fictitious government grants or loans, bogus work-at-home jobs and various other “easy money” offers.
“Calls and complaints about suspicious international lotteries and questionable job offers have more than doubled over the past year as scam artists target people searching for part-time work or tempted by an unexpected prize,” Corbett said. “Economically-stressed consumers are clearly being targeted by con artists who steal their money and their hope – leaving victims to face even greater financial problems.”
Corbett said lottery and sweepstakes scams come in many different forms – some claim that consumers were selected for the prize because their names were entered in an international drawing, while others are supposedly linked to contests intended to reward consumers for the use of a debit or credit card.
“The stories told by these scam artists come in many different forms, but nearly all of these bogus contests operate in similar ways,” Corbett said. “At some point, consumers will be given a check and asked to quickly wire-transfer a portion of that money to someone else.”
Corbett said the checks that are included in these scam offers appear authentic and may include watermarks, holograms and other markings intended to enhance their “official” appearance. Despite their appearance, these checks are counterfeit, altered, stolen or otherwise worthless, and consumers who deposit the checks and wire-transfer money will eventually be required to return any missing money to their bank.
“These criminals are counting on the fact that victims will find it hard to resist a realistic looking check for several thousand dollars, especially when that check is supposedly the first installment of a much larger prize or advance payment for a part-time job,” Corbett said. “They also know that it may take days or weeks before the checks are identified as worthless, by which time the scam artists have already collected their money and moved on to another location.”
Corbett urged consumers to avoid any sort of contest that requires consumers to wire-transfer money in order to release a much larger prize.
“Legitimate lotteries withhold all taxes and fees up-front, before they distribute the prize winnings, so there’s no need for consumers to ever send money to contest operators,” Corbett said. “Additionally, it is extremely unlikely that consumers will win a lottery or sweepstakes that they have not physically entered and federal law prohibits U.S. citizens from participating in foreign lotteries.”
Corbett also encouraged consumers to avoid employment offers or “government grant” solicitations that seem too good to be true.
“In nearly every job-related scam, consumers will be asked to wire-transfer money as part of their ‘employment’ – a clear warning sign of a scam,” Corbett said. “In government grant scams, consumers are often told that they need to send money in order cover application or processing fees – another ‘red flag’ for scams.”
Additionally, Corbett cautioned consumers to be wary of situations where people overpay for items that are being sold through classified ads or online auctions. Often, scam artists will send a check for more than the sale price, with a request that the “extra” funds be transferred to someone else in order to pay for shipping or other fees. In other situations, thieves may pay for an item but then quickly ask for a portion of their money back – claiming to have encountered sudden family or financial problems.
“In all of these situations, the scam artists are hoping to convince you to quickly wire-transfer money before you discover that their initial check is worthless,” Corbett said.
Corbett has joined the Consumer Federation of America’s national Fake Check Task Force, to help raise public awareness about these scams and protect consumers. According to the results of a national survey conducted by the Consumer Federation of America, nearly one-third of all adults have been approached with fake check scams. At least 1.3 million have become actual victims, with an average loss of $3,000 to $4,000 per consumer.
Corbett offered the following tips to identify and avoid fake check scams:
-Do not send money to claim a prize. Legitimate contest operators will never send you a check or money order and ask you to send back a portion of that payment in order to release a larger prize.
-Never agree to cash checks or transfer money as part of a work-at-home job. Legitimate businesses do not ask employees to perform those tasks.
-Be wary of any situation where someone uses a check to overpay for an item being sold in an online auction or Internet classified ad – especially if they ask you to wire-transfer a portion of that overpayment to someone else.
-Do not pay for government grants. Official agencies do not offer money to people unexpectedly or charge fees in order to distribute grant money.
-Never agree to wire money to anyone you have not met in person and known for a long time.
Corbett said that consumers with questions or complaints about scams or other consumer issues can contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-441-2555 or file an online consumer complaint using the Attorney General’s Web site (Click on the “Complaints” button on the front page of the website and select the “Consumer Complaint Form”).
Suspected scams can also be reported to the national Internet Crime Complaint Center, and additional background information about check scams is available from the CFA.