Often the Prince George RCMP receive reports of a form of advance payment fraud known as the lottery or prize pitch fraud.
This type of fraud is when fraudsters target victims to make advance or upfront payments for lottery or prize winnings that never materialize.
The lottery or prize pitch scam is when the victim is contacted by email or phone and told that they have won the lottery or a contest with a prize. The catch is the victim is required to purchase a product, or pay a fee or taxes up front, before receiving the prize.
After being scammed of these fees, victims are often called back by someone that claims they can get their money back. Sometimes the scammer poses as a police officer that has seized your money as part of an investigation and now wants a fee to get your money back to you. Other times the scammer poses as someone that works for a company that now owns the company that promised you prizes.
Be careful not to lose more money, as these are also scams.
In order to help avoid being a victim of this scam, remember the following general words of advice:
Lotteries do not contact winners by email and they certainly would not use web based email addresses (Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc) to contact you.
Ask yourself if you entered a lottery or how your name was chosen for the prize.
Lotteries do not ask for payment of fees or taxes in advance.
Legitimate contests do not require you to purchase a product to qualify for a prize.
Police never ask for fees as part of investigations.
If you are a victim once, you will often be targeted again. Familiarize yourself with different types of frauds at the Canadian Anti-fraud Centre website.
Speak to your entire family about frauds, especially those that are more trusting like the elderly.
Never wire money before acquiring the good or service. Once it's gone, you cannot get it back.
Research the lottery on the internet.
Call their customer service centre and ask questions. Some companies have warnings about the fraud on their websites.
For more information about this type of Advance Payment Fraud or any other frauds in Canada, go to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website or click pgc.cc/1h1st5P.
