Police warn of two new mail scams

To the Editor:

Westminster police want area residents to be aware of two mail scams in the area cost area residents their money.

"If you didn't enter a sweepstakes, participate in a survey, or play the lottery, then you should not be receiving these types of letters," said Westminster Detective Jeffrey Shampine. "If it sounds too good to be true, then you know it's a scam."

The first is scam that involves letters from the United Kingdom International Sweepstakes of Halifax, Nova Scotia and the De Lotto Netherlands Sweepstakes.

The letters advise recipients that they have won the lottery and have won $250,000 to $1.5 million. The letter then directs the recipient to call a number to receive further instructions on how to claim their prize. Also enclosed, in some of the scams, are checks that the recipient is told is an advancement in their winnings to help them pay for processing fees and taxes.

The check enclosed is false. If the recipient of this scam deposits this check into an account, withdraws the funds, and sends funds through a cash payment center such as Western Union. The check they have deposited will be held by the bank for a period of time, which would later reveal the check is false.

The recipient then looses any cash money they have withdrawn from their accounts.

A second mail scam that has surfaced is called a Shoppers Survey Scam. This scam states you have been chosen to survey various products. A check in the amount of $2,900 is enclosed and asks that you cash the check, keep $400 and send the remaining $2,500 to a Western Union address.

Again, if the recipient of this scam deposits the check into their account and withdraws the funds, the check in question will be found to be false and the money withdrawn by the victim will be lost.

Anyone receiving any type of lottery, sweepstakes or checks from any type of survey companies are urged not to respond to these scams and to throw the documents away. These types of scams have been ongoing for many years.

Each year, many people fall victim to these scams and loose thousands of dollars.

Westminster Police Department