Lottery Check Scam

(WAVY.com) - Imagine opening the mail and finding a check with your name and address, as well as a letter saying you won the lottery.

It's happening at an alarming rate and police turned to WAVY.com to warn people to "watch out" because chances are it's a scam. Not only is this scam costing innocent victims thousands upon thousands of dollars, in many cases it's also costing them their reputation with the bank.

WAVY.com took the issue to Virginia Beach police to learn what you should look out for. Detective Samantha Swanson, with the Virginia Beach Police Economic Crime Unit, told us, "...if you didn't play, you probably didn't win the lottery...." And she says the counterfeit checks are just one part of a growing trend in scams.

"It looks like, 'Hey I might have actually won something.' But typically it's going to be anywhere from a $2,500 to a $4,500 check. They're going to go cash the check and then wire, say, $3,000 of that check and you get to keep the thousand."

Detective Swanson says the scammers will claim the wired money is to cover taxes or administrative fees. And when the victim tries to cash the check? They "...are going to be liable to a bank for that money -- you will never get that money back."

And not only do you lose that money, but you'll also have to pay bank fees.

So what should you do if you get a suspicious check in the mail?

"My advice is to bring it straight to the police department and you can bring it to anybody in the economic crime unit of that department. And what we can do is we can voucher that check and we'll have it destroyed, because... it's a counterfeit check," Detective Swanson said.

Bottom line is you should NEVER have to spend money to claim your prize.

Helpful websites:

Better Business Bureau

FraudAid

Consumer Fraud Reporting