By Craig Brenden
Have you won your $1 million this year? I have -- several times, or so I've been told.
Yes, it's been a grand year for me. I've been told that I won $1 million multiple times. I received notices of my good fortune by both U.S. mail and by e-mail. How could anyone be so lucky?
Although I have never actually bought a ticket to the Canadian lottery or the European lottery, I got letters that I had won both of them for $1 million or more. Amazing! All I had to do to get my winnings was to send a little money back to pay some incidental fees and taxes. Or I could simply take the check they sent me and cash it, then send a portion of it back to the lottery to pay for those fees and taxes.
I did neither, because these were scams.
Sadly, lottery scams are rampant today. Authorities say these scams persuade good people to send millions of dollars every month. What a tragedy.
How can you know if a prize winning is a scam? Simple. If you are asked to pay for anything to collect your winnings, it's a scam. End of story.
It is against the law in the United States to charge any type of fee to someone who has truly won the lottery or any other contest. If you receive a letter stating you must pay a fee or tax to receive your millions, you should immediately know that it is a scam.
Asking someone to send money to collect a prize is illegal. Tear up the letter; delete the e-mail. And tell someone what you did. If enough of us stop responding, maybe we can put these scam artists out of business.
