How to Avoid Lottery Mail Fraud

As we head to our mail boxes daily to get all of the fun and sometimes overwhelming mail some of us come across envelopes that show promising hopes yet disappointing outcomes. These usually are in forms of a lottery we have won and a lot of times the only winner in this case is the person that sent it to you. Get a note pad or bookmark this page and pay close attention because this will save you a lot of time and keep you out of getting taken advantage of with mail fraud.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. When receiving a envelope stating you have won money make sure you detail everything about it and hold on to everything that was mailed to you.

2. Look over the letter and look for sayings such as "you have won" and "we have overpaid you and just need you to send some back to cover taxes". These are sure signs that this is a scam especially when you never entered anything.

3. Look over the check and find what bank it came from and call them to see if the check and account number is actually real.

4. Call the business it came from to see if they have issued this out.

5. Check with your local Bank or Credit Union to have them examine it to see if fraud was committed. A lot of times they have come across this and can spot it right away.

6. Look for a letter attached explaining everything. It will be long and over board and will most likely have a number to call to verify it. A lot of times it is a fake number or the person on the phone is part of the scam.

Tips & Warnings

• Be cautious
• Be smart
• Don't just cash this. When it bounces you will have to pay every cent back.

[MyJB]

on 6/25/2009 This is pretty thorough information and if a person follows these steps, reading between the line, they can stay out of trouble with lottery mail fraud scams. 5