Tuesday, June 29, 2010
District Attorney Issues Another Fraud Alert
District Attorney Mike Bottoms has issued a fraud alert to local residents, advising them to be on the alert for this latest scam.
Bottoms issued the advisory Tuesday morning, indicating that individuals have reported receiving notification bearing the letter head of “Goldberg Securities, Inc.” of Toronto. The notification informs recipients that they are winners in the “De-Lotto North American and London Sweepstakes Lottery held on May 7th, 2010 in the 2nd category.”
The notification reads, “We have made many unsuccessful attempts to contact you regarding this winning. You are therefore entitled to the sum of $125,000.00 U.S. dollars. This is from total prize money of $4 million U.S. Dollars that was shared and presented among the other 32 declared winners.”
Recipients are informed their names were “selected through a random computer drawing from over 500,000 names,” and that their prize money has been “forwarded to our Clearing/disbursement institution to release your funds to you.”
Along with a claim number, recipients are sent a “cashier’s check” through “Capital One Bank,” in the amount of $3,875.00. They are advised, “The sole purpose of the first check is for the payment of applicable government taxes on your big winnings. Government taxes cannot be deducted from the winning amount because of the insurance bond policy coverage. The tax amount is USD $2,875 to be paid by Western Union directly to the tax agent.”
In addition, recipients are warned, “Please do not use this check until you call. We urge you to keep this wining CONFIDENTIAL until your claim has been processed and your cash remitted to you as this is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by non participants taking advantage of this program. You are advised to contact your claim agent immediately for further clarification as indicated below within 10 business days.”
Recipients are then given a contact number and advised to contact “Mr. John Howard” during business hours.
Bottoms explains, “They are enclosing a cashiers check that is a forgery on the Capital One Bank,” and advises residents, “Anyone receiving letters and checks from Goldberg Securities, Inc., should be alerted that this is a fraud.”
Officials advise residents never to give out vital information, and to contact your local law enforcement agency, should you be uncertain as to the validity of such an offer.
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