CONTACT

Katie Carrol - Director of Communications
Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado
Telephone: 719/636-5076 Ext. 118
Fax: 719/636-5078
Email: katiec@bbbsc.org

(Colorado Springs, CO – September 21, 2005) – The latest trend in foreign lottery scams is the practice of circumventing the U. S. mail, according to the Better Business Bureau® of Southern Colorado and the Federal Communications Commission.

Consumers are becoming increasingly familiar with misleading lottery and sweepstakes letters promising large sums of money. Foreign lottery promoters continue to target Americans with illegal lotteries by using new ways to avoid legal regulations. The latest scheme con artists are using is to send lottery letters in boxes shipped and labeled as cargo in anticipation of inspection by customs officials. To avoid detection, these illegal documents are being disguised as printed matter valued at less than 2,000 dollars.

Postal inspectors working with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection have seen a significant increase in the number of mailings over the last year. Since October of 2004, approximately 500,000 pieces of fraudulent mailings have been destroyed at both the Chicago airport and the JFK Airport in New York.

To avoid being victimized by this scam, the BBB of Southern Colorado and the FCC recommend you do the following:

• Pay attention to where the information is coming from. Anywhere outside of the U.S. indicates it is a foreign lottery or sweepstakes scam.
• Look for clues such as organizations that ask for money or other requests prior to collecting winnings.
• Don’t be pressured into sending money in advance or giving out credit information.
• Contact the Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado to verify the company and the document’s credibility at www.bbbsc.org or call toll free at 866-206-1094.