District residents who receive a letter telling them they’ve won the lottery, but have to pay a deposit to get their share of it, had best call PhoneBusters—it’s a scam.
A Devlin woman contacted the Times yesterday to let them known about the letter, which she received in the mail Wednesday.
The woman contacted police and PhoneBusters regarding the letter, who verified it was certainly a scam and that she should notify the local media to let more people know about it.
The letter, dated March 19, 2008, is from “Financial Trusts Services” in Toronto.
It says the recipient has won the “DeLotto Netherland Sweepstakes Lottery,” held on May 3, 2007, and the company has been trying to the contact the recipient ever since but have been unsuccessful.
The letter says the lottery saw a jackpot $9 million, which was declared to 75 different winners, including whomever received the letter. The Devlin woman was told her share was $75,000.
Enclosed with the letter is a cheque for $4,700. The woman said PhoneBusters told her the cheque looks authentic, but is almost certainly stolen and people should not attempt to cash it.
Anyone who receives one should bring it in to the bank and have the bank verify it as stolen and report it.
The letter then instructs the recipient to give $2,700 to an insurance company to pay for an insurance bond policy to get the balance of their $75,000 share of the jackpot.
This prize had to be claimed by March 28, 2008.
The letter includes a name to contact, along with a phone number. The recipient is instructed to call the phone number with a claim number and winning lottery number, which are included in the letter, to claim their prize.
PhoneBusters told the woman that if she were to call the phone number, she would be given another person’s name and instructions on how to process her payment for her $2,700 insurance bond policy.
“I could tell all the way through it [it was fraudulent]. Words aren’t spelled right and the whole bit,” she noted, adding one example was the fact her jackpot share, minus the $4,700 advance, was cited in the letter as “$70,000.300”—not $70,300.
The woman also pointed out the letterhead indicated that “Financial Trust Services” is located in Toronto, but elsewhere it’s indicated “Financial Trust Services” is located in Pittsburgh, Penn.
It also indicates unusual address names, like “Fed Ex Drive.”
Most suspicious of all is the fact the letter tells recipients to keep their winnings “confidential until your claim is processed and your money remitted to you, as this is part of our security protocol.”
“You get an older person and they might think, ‘Well, if I phone anybody, I’m not going to get this,’” noted the Devlin woman.
Those who receive a suspicious letter, phone call, or any other type of solicitation are encouraged to contact PhoneBusters toll-free at 1-888-495-8501.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
