BBB of Vancouver Island has recently started to receive reports from local consumers who are getting phone calls from people with heavy accents claiming the consumer has won a foreign lottery.
In this scam, victims are told they have won a substantial lottery prize (often millions of dollars) from a foreign country. Often additional prizes, such as a car are included with the prize winnings. Victims are typically asked to wire money or send a cheque to "release the winnings" or "to cover the taxes" on the prize, prior to receiving them. In some instances, cheques are even sent to the victims from the foreign lottery, and "fees" of a few thousand dollars are asked to be returned upon receipt of the cheque.
Tips to identify lottery prize scams:
1) You did not enter the lottery or purchase a lottery ticket;
2) The representative of the lottery is aggressive, or persistent;
3) You are asked to pay some sort of fee in order to receive your winnings.
BBB warns consumers that it is illegal to play and win a foreign lottery. Legitimate lotteries will be provincial or national in scope only. It is also illegal for an agency to require the winner of a prize to pay a fee to retrieve any prize winnings.
Remember, if it sounds too good to be true...it probably is.