Sweepstakes Sweep!
Chris Gunn
Friday, April 19th, 1996
Many people are familiar with those little cards or letters in the mail
that say "You JOHN Q. PUBLIC have definitely been found eligible to win.
Please send 19.95 to..." Most people throw them away, and for good reason.
If you have legitimately won a sweepstakes you should not have to pay any
fees, and any taxes owed will be collected by the IRS directly and not the
company. There should also never be any purchase requirements. In case
you're wondering, calling a 900# is paying for something. You're going to
get billed for that call.
Most people know to throw these away when they come via snail-mail. Yet,
many trust such notices if they receive them via e-mail. Sometimes they
read like the traditional post card. Sometimes they claim to be systems
for winning big on the Internet Sweepstakes circuit. No matter what they
are, if they ask for money, ignore them. A legitimate sweepstakes is based
on chance, so no system can guarantee that you'll win, and no legitimate
sweepstakes will charge you fees. The best thing to do is drag that letter
to the trash. If you do receive such an e-mail, and you're still not sure,
call us at 1-800-876-7060 and ask for advice on a sweepstakes. NFIC
operators will gladly explain to you how to not lose your money.
Log on the WebSite at http://www.fraud.org, or call 1-800-876-7060.
If you spot obviously illegal operations on the E-Ways, please
forward copies of the messages to NFIC at frau...@psinet.com.
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