At one time or another most of us have received an offer through the mail that promised a cash prize, vacation, or something else of value. Typically to be eligible the "winner" only needs to reply by sending a small processing fee, or in some cases, just by verifying their identity by submitting seeming harmless personal information. It is safe to say that most of us know these offers are too good to be true and that they are probably a scam. That said, many people respond to this type of "offer" anyway because it seemed just too good to pass up, or because the amount of the processing fee was nominal.

Recently a Sheriff's Office investigation into one of these mailings revealed a foreign lottery scam targeting senior citizens. The investigation began in Pinellas County and quickly spread across the State of Florida, and then across the United States and Canada. According to Sheriff's detectives the scam is simple, but effective. Mailings are sent to people who are 65 or older, and it is estimated that thousands are sent and received daily. The mailings promise a chance to win a foreign lottery, and sometimes notify the recipient that they have already won. The lottery has had more than 16 different names that detectives are aware of, names such as CDM, CIPD/GAA, and CAOJA. The processing fee or "buy-in" for these lotteries is between $30-80, for which the "winner" purchases "lucky lottery numbers" that are theirs for a period of 3-12 months. Detectives say that nothing is ever paid to the "winners," yet one victim told them he was afraid to stop responding to the mailing for fear of learning that his numbers would later become winners.

Detectives say greed motivates people to enter and add that many people have responded to the "offer" in hopes of winning a prize. The minimum payoff for the perpetrators of the scam is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, while the players get nothing. Detectives warn that even if you do not sent any money, simply responding to the "offer" will certainly result in additional mailings. One local victim received more than 120 mailings in a 60-day period.

If you have received such a lottery mailing - rest assured that IT IS A SCAM! Detectives urge you not to respond to the "offer" and to either shred the mailing or contact you local law enforcement agency to report it.

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