Police, DA warn of lottery scams

Saturday, May 06, 2006 posted 03:32 AM EDT

While the MO may seem so familiar it's become almost a cliche, scam artists are still trying to swindle residents by sending fake announcements indicating the recipient has won a lottery.

Friday, the Danville Police and the Northumberland County district attorney’s office both sent out press releases warning that such solicitations have been received in the area.

The Danville police said "a local resident received a check and a letter claiming to have won a sweepstakes. In the letter, the recipient is told, if he or she cashes the check and mails the funds back, then a larger amount of money will be sent along later.

"The check is purported to be drawn on an account from Citibank," Danville police said. Citibank officials contacted said the check received by the local resident was counterfeit.

Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Rosini said residents have been getting notices claiming the recipient has won the Australian lottery. Enclosed with a letter is a check, which is supposed to be used to "pay the taxes" in Australia on the winnings. The letter tells the recipient to wire the money to an individual in Canada.

Mr. Rosini said residents should be wary of correspondence if it comes from an unfamiliar source.

"You can't win if you don’t play," Mr. Rosini said. "If someone writes you and tells you that you have won a lottery you never played, you should be very suspicious.”

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