A
CAUTIONARY TALE
Advertencia: Esto Es Un Scam
08/15/05
“Congratulations!
You’ve won the Spanish National Lottery! To claim your prize,
just send us cash to pay the taxes in advance.”
Sound familiar? It’s
a classic Nigerian
letter scam —originating in Spain—that bilks thousands
of people around the world out of an estimated $24 million a year and
opens the door to future identity theft. About half of the victims are
from the U.S.
How does the
scam work? The names and addresses of targets—all outside
Spain—are collected through the Internet. Then you, the target,
get a letter from the Spanish National Lottery claiming you’ve
won about $730,000 in a special promotional lottery. An estimated six
million letters are sent a year. The letters look legitimate, complete
with official logos and contact information. They also include a form
from the bank where the money is supposedly being held. You might even
receive follow-up faxes and phone calls.
Then the hook: all
you have to do is pay Spanish taxes—between 0.5 percent and 2 percent
of the winnings—to get the money. Just fax your completed claim
forms with personal and banking information and wire the money within
a couple of days. If you take the bait, chances are you’ll be asked
to cover other expenses, too.
Our colleagues,
the Spanish National Police (SNP) have relentlessly pursued the criminals
in their country who are behind these schemes. In July, they
launched a massive crackdown that resulted in 300 arrests, 150 searches,
and the seizures of nearly 2,000 cell phones, hundreds of computers
and fax machines, plenty of fake documents, and $265,000 in cash.
We were delighted
to be a part of their investigation, working through our Madrid legal
attache office and with our partners in the Federal Trade Commission
and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Our task was to identify and interview
possible U.S. victims by calling some 800 U.S. phone numbers from lists
provided by the SNP.
This is truly a 21st
century concept of policing: working internationally to protect you in
your community.
Want to keep
from getting scammed by these and similar frauds? Here’s
our advice:
- NEVER give
personal information over the telephone, mail, or Internet unless
you initiated the contact.
- Do NOT wire
money to strangers.
- NEVER send
money to collect a prize if a fee is required.
- If
you think you’re being targeted, contact
us or file a complaint with the Federal
Trade Commission.
For more advice on
protecting yourself from fraud, check out our Be
Crime Smart webpage.
Resources: More
White-Collar Crime stories
