Canadian Lottery Scam

     Mason County Sheriff Wayne Youell wants to warn the citizens of Mason County of the Canadian Lottery scam. It has been recently reported that some Mason County residents have been targeted as victims regarding this scam. The scam generally occurs in the following manner:

     A resident will be telephoned and told that they have been entered into the Canadian Lottery without cost.

     A few weeks later, the resident is telephoned again, congratulated and told that they are the winner of a huge prize. Often the proclaimed winning is said to be around $350,000.00. The caller then states that before the prize money can be delivered, taxes and transportation expenses will need to be paid. At this time, several thousand dollars are requested for the taxes/expenses and the victim is told that it is very important for them to wire this money as soon as possible via Western Union transfer. Usually a promise of next day delivery of the winnings is made upon receipt of the expense money. Unfortunately the victim sends the expense money but the prize does not exist.

     After receiving the expense money, the fraudster commonly will telephone the victim back several times to explain of new reasons why more money needs to be sent. Sometimes the fraudster claims to be the police trying to track down the swindler.

     Those targeted in this scam are often chosen because they have fallen victim to past deceptions or because they have entered postal competitions. Their names are circulated among criminal gangs on what are known as “sucker lists”. Those who are conned are usually too embarrassed to report the crime.

     The Mason County Sheriff’s Office strongly encourages anyone who believes they have been victim of this scam to report it to either the Mason County Sheriff’s Office at 309-543-2231 or their local police department.

     If you think you are being targeted in this or similar scams, the best thing to do is to hang-up the telephone. If you have caller I.D., write the telephone number down and report it to the authorities.

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