Mesa Police Department Cons, Frauds & Scams
 

Sweepstakes Scams

NEW  Prizes and sweepstakes scams were second on the Top Ten list. You should NEVER has to pay any money to receive a prize. Don't be fooled by requests for handling and shipping fees, customs fee, or money for taxes.

A senior in Mesa received a check for over $4600 and a letter stating that she had won this year's million dollar sweepstakes. The check is to "help pay your insurance fees, legal and documentation fee, and administration fee." She was asked to wire back 60% of the check to pay the fees before she would receive her prize. Then she was to call a phone number -- a Canadian phone number -- and she was asked to keep this private and confidential. Please don't be fooled by these advance checks. They are bogus!  Had this woman deposited the money into her account and wired back the 60% to the company she would have lost the money from her account and the bank would not have an obligation to reimburse her. Also see Refund Checks.

We have received information on a  sweepstakes company in Clearwater, FL because the consumer received a notice in the mail about a sweepstakes entry to win 1 million dollars. When the consumer did some research they found that this company tried to sell magazines to consumers who called to enter the contest. This is a very common approach for these companies to get consumers to contact them. Don't be taken in by these sweepstakes. There is no assurance that anyone has ever won, or will win, the grand prize.

More reports are coming in about bogus advance checks that are sent as part of sweepstakes scams. Victims are instructed to deposit these checks and then wire money to cover taxes, processing fees, etc. to collect their prize. Since the checks are not valid, the victim is out the money from their bank account.  Once again, if you've won a free prize you should not have to pay taxes or any fees to collect that prize.

More than 50 million Americans enter at least one sweepstakes per year, and most enter without making a purchase to win. However, many seniors believe they cannot win unless they make a purchase or they believe they have a better chance of winning when they make a purchase. For these seniors, this can create a serious financial burden. To address this problem, the Direct Marketing Association has opened up a help line to help relatives and caregivers of these seniors deal with this problem. If you know of a senior who may be in need of education on sweepstakes, you can call the Direct Marketing Association help line at 1-202-861-2475. You can also call the Mesa Police Department SAFE Senior Program, 644-5014, and they will be happy to help you. Please remember, you should not have to pay any money or make any purchases to enter to win a sweepstakes. 

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