Lotteries, letters and other schemes criminals use to prey on the innocent and the elderly -- and how to protect yourself

You're retired, living hand-to-mouth on a fixed income, wishing you had more money to enjoy your golden years -- when you receive a godsend in the mail.

It's a letter declaring you the winner of a $600,000 lottery. It even comes with a cashier's check worth several thousand dollars.

Of course, in order to claim your prize, you have to send half of the amount of that cashier's check back to cover "administrative costs" -- up front, and via a secure and immediate money service such as Western Union, in order to receive the remainder of your winnings.

But what the heck? A few thousand dollars is a mere pittance compared to the hundreds of thousands that will soon be yours, right? You can't risk passing up this opportunity-of-a-lifetime.

Listen -- and listen well. This particular lottery is not a dream come true. It's a nightmare.

Because you've just been scammed.

Send the company money, and you can kiss it good-bye, because the lottery doesn't exist; it's a front for criminals. Deposit that cashier's check, and you will likely have your bank account frozen -- perhaps for weeks -- while authorities investigate, because the check is counterfeit. And if you've sent the phony company money from your account against their fake check, YOU are generally held responsible for paying back the bank.

Does it sound like a dream come true now?

The lottery gag is just one of numerous creative schemes criminals use to separate you from your hard-earned cash. They prey on the unknowing through the mail, via fax lines and over the Internet. And senior citizens usually make the most vulnerable of victims.

"I believe it's because seniors were brought up in a different time period," said Gordon Baer, Crime Prevention Practitioner with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. "They were brought up to be more polite on the telephone, to be more trusting."

Of course, it doesn't help that scammers' documents look so official, that the check purportedly from the Nestle food corporation bears the recognized corporate logo, or that a legitimate lottery organization exists with the same name the crooks are using. It's all part of what sucks the unsuspecting into their trap.

"One detective had an interesting way of putting it," said Beverly Cornwell, Economic Crimes Specialist with the CCSO. "Fraudulent companies have to mirror legitimate companies in order to get these scams to work."

And work they do -- causing some area residents to lose thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars.

There are several basic types of schemes that scammers predominantly use. All sound legitimate -- at first. But all have components that should raise a red flag for any unsuspecting victim.

Win, and you lose

Deep Creek resident David Bucceny recently received a letter declaring him a $525,000 winner in the Oz Lotteries -- a legitimate organization (that, to its credit, posts a scam alert on its Web site). He was immediately suspicious, since the company wanted a portion of the $4,000 cashier's check it sent for administrative costs.

Bucceny called the number on the letter, and was greeted by a foreign-sounding man who immediately wanted his phone number.

"I wouldn't give it to him," he said. "I gave him the reference number (on the letter) -- you'd think he would be able to pull up all of my information with that -- but you could tell he wasn't writing it down.

"He knew he was busted."

Bucceny, 34 years old, called the Sun about his experience because "there're a lot of retired and fixed-income people here. I don't want to see them get screwed. The way they (the scammers) do it, they're going to suck people in. They don't have any morals. They don't care."

As with many other scams -- even telephone-based ones -- the letter Bucceny received arrived from Canada.

Baer could not say why our northern neighbor is such a hotbed for current scam activity.

As for the scam itself: "That's one of the biggest scams going on is the lottery-type scam," Baer said. "People fall for this quite readily. If you haven't played one of these lotteries, chances are slim that you've won."

Because the perpetrators are transient -- using disposable cell phone numbers, moving from one location to another each week -- they become almost impossible to trace. Therefore, no one will be able to arrest and prosecute them -- and you will likely never see your money again.

Help me!

Probably the best-known scam around, the "letter from Nigeria" is known by several names worldwide -- the "Advance Fee Fraud," "419 Fraud" (Four-One-Nine, after a formerly relevant section of the Criminal Code of Nigeria) and "The Nigerian Connection."

It has been perpetrated since the 1970s -- originally by postal service, later by fax, and now popular via e-mail. According to a report published by Ultrascan Advanced Global Investigations, this scam has victimized millions all over the globe -- and continues to grow by 3 percent every year, with more than 300,000 practicing perpetrators.

The United States has suffered cumulative damages in excess of $28 billion -- with $3.8 billion losses in 2006 alone. And that doesn't include the total of victims from the United Kingdom, Japan, Spain, Korea, Germany, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, India -- in fact, nearly every nation on Earth.

The message may not actually come from Nigeria, or say that it does. But it is usually is from a West African nation -- Ghana, Togo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast. The gist of the request is this:

Help me; I'm a political prisoner trapped in Nigeria. I have millions of dollars in a hidden bank account that I don't want the government to get hold of. I will share with you, if you just send me money to have it transferred to your personal bank account.

While political money-laundering is a common theme, these messages can also suggest a legitimate enterprise, such as dealings in oil. It can also take the form of a plea from a persecuted Christian, or some repentant sinner who, nearing the end of his wicked (but apparently profitable) life, wants to donate his riches to a church. All it takes is a few grand from you to make the dubious exchange.

According to the "Nigeria - 419 Coalition," which exists to educate potential victims of this fraud, the scam may actually be the third-largest industry in Nigeria -- and may even be being perpetrated by the government itself!

As recently as last month, one Punta Gorda resident wired a total of $30,000 through a series of like scams, which started with a man from Ghana pleading for money to help get his child out of the country -- and then grew.

Some years ago, an Englewood resident lost more than twice that -- $80,000 -- from a similar scheme, Baer said.

Because of extradition and other difficulties, he added, "prosecution and recovery of your money is almost impossible."

Robbing the bank

There has been a computer glitch at your bank! A representative calls to warn you that unless the problem is remedied, anyone with a computer can have access to your account information.

Of course, you'd want to fix that problem immediately. How to do it is simple, the caller says: Just give us your account number and we'll take it from here.

They'll take it, all right.

Cornwell recounted a case where a local woman was approached with such a scam. The woman asked the caller to name the bank supposedly affected.

"All banks," the caller replied.

The intended victim told the caller to give her the account number on record, and she would confirm it.

The caller hung up.

"Use caution -- really," Cornwell said. "If people are putting pressure on you, stop and take a second look."

In a case such as this, she added, that second look might be calling your bank to make sure the problem is legitimate.

Another take on this type of scam is the call from your credit card company telling you your card is being upgraded. All you have to do is read off your current card number so that it can be "transferred correctly to your new card."

Baer recounted such an incident when a local woman complied, then thought better of it and checked the caller ID. Canada.

Within two hours, she called her credit card company, only to discover a $214 charge had already been levied -- from a restaurant in Great Britain!

Scammers waste no time using the information they've pilfered.

Who are you?

The sentence "We have a warrant for your arrest" can strike fear in the heart of even the most innocent citizen -- especially when it's allegedly coming from a judge who's hot because you missed your summons for jury duty.

Of course, you're certain you never received that notice, but that's not what the caller on the phone tells you. Well ... your name isn't all that uncommon. Perhaps we have the wrong person. All we need is your date of birth and Social Security number to check it. How about that! We really do have the wrong person. Sorry for bothering you.

And so you've been scammed -- but you don't even know it. Because there was no offer for monetary transaction, no credit card or account numbers exchanged, you blow off the call as the result of a harmless misunderstanding.

Until you get your next credit card bill.

According to Baer, any scammers who manage to squeeze a bank account or credit card number out of their victims are only getting the gravy. They don't need it.

There is something else as valuable as money -- information.

Who are you? From a criminal's standpoint, you are merely your date of birth and your Social Security number. Those are the only two things a scammer needs to steal your identity, Baer said. Give those up and -- bingo -- he (or she) becomes you, at least on paper.

Woe and warning

Unfortunately, the aforementioned scams are only the tip of the iceberg of the economic crimes plaguing our area.

There's the nonexistent company in Miami selling permanent generators for hurricane season -- that are never delivered. (A quick call to your county government will confirm if the company has a valid electrical license necessary to do business in your county.) There are the people who respond to want ads by sending you a phony check for twice the amount required, with instructions that you send the balance to a third party for shipping. And don't forget the landscaper or plumber or other faux professional who offers to work on your yard for pay up front -- and then disappears.

Sad to say, you just have to be on your guard.

Baer, who gives presentations on this subject around the county, offers these general tips to help prevent you from being a victim:

* Never give sensitive information over the phone, especially date of birth, Social Security number, or any account or card numbers.

* Be immediately suspicious of any prize requiring you to pay any money up front.

* Be especially wary when these costs are not acceptable by any method by which you can cancel payment, requiring you to use services such as Western Union instead.

* You've never heard of or never participated in the lottery or sweepstakes for which you have supposedly won.

Anyone receiving suspicious correspondence or a phone call, and who needs help determining if it's legitimate, should call Baer directly at (941) 764-1533.

The Nigeria -- 419 Coalition's slogan is, "We fight the Nigerian scam with education."

And education may be the best defense against any of the scams preying on Charlotte County residents today.

If you need help

If you want to know if a letter, call or message is a scam, contact Gordon Baer, Crime Prevention Practitioner with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, at (941) 764-1533.

If you believe you have actually become the victim of a scam, file a report by contacting the CCSO at (941) 639-2101.

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