Sweepstakes Scam Puts Texans at Risk
By: Mitch Carr
Updated: July 16, 2009
The Texas Attorney General is warning Texans about a new sweepstakes hoax.
Letters are being sent to Texans, telling them they've won money. They ask for a refundable fee for registration and insurance costs.
Another letter is then sent out. This time supposedly from the Federal Trade Commission. It claims the agency will help collect the money, but first the winners must send money for insurance, again.
Both letters are fake and there is no money.
Nan Campbell at the South Plains Better Business Bureau says you should never have to pay money to win money. She also has some advice for those who receive the letter.
"My advice to anyone who receives a letter of this nature is to tear it up into little bitty tiny pieces and toss it in the old round file because it is not in your interest to get involved with it," Campbell said.
For more information on this scam, you can go to the Texas Attorney General's website at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov or call 1-800-252-8011.
