Fortunately, being military, I was trained to recognize a scam: If a) you've never heard of the company, b) you've never entered a contest, and/or c) the company requires you to submit a fee to claim a reward IT IS A SCAM!
On 21FEB06 I received the letter from the LVAAP. On 22FEB06 I turned it in to the US Postal Inspector as an example of Mail Fraud (A FEDERAL FELONY!!!).
On 23FEB06 I received the "Form W-915" from the US Sweepstakes Advisors. My response will be the same: turn it into the Postal Inspector at the first opportunity.
If you have not participated in the scam, the process is simple: hand the letter and envelope over to the Postal Inspector, no other action necessary. (I had not participated).
If you have participated, the Postal Inspector stated that they require a Mail Fraud report to be filed (think Police Incident Report). Either way, the Postal Inspector is supposed to investigate (their statement of procedures) and may (or may not) have the reporter act as a witness in court if/when they prosecute as necessary.
The more reports they get, the more likely they are to devote resources. Send in these scams!
0 comments