LEVIN CALLS FOR TOUGH LAWS TO STOP DECEPTIVE SWEEPSTAKES

Deceptive Claims Often Lure Seniors to Send Money

Washington--Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich) called for tougher laws to stop the use of deceptive sweepstakes mass mailings at today's hearing on the "Use of Mass Mail to Defraud Consumers" held before the Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation and Federal Services. The hearing looked at sweepstakes mailings that notify the recipient in prominent letters that he or she is a "guaranteed cash winner" of hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars and then declare in small, hard-to-read type that winning depends on having and returning the winning number. Such sweepstakes are used by numerous companies to sell products from magazines to gardening supplies and convey the impression that making a purchase is a requirement to claiming a "guaranteed" prize.

"Complaints about deceptive sweepstakes account for more than half of the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Information System complaints," Levin said, "and are one of the top problems reported to the U.S. Postal Service and state attorneys general."

"Unfortunately," Levin pointed out, "the elderly are most vulnerable to the deceptions. In the extreme cases, and there are far too many of them, a senior citizen can spend so much money on sweepstakes promotions that they can no longer pay their rent."

Levin cited one case in Michigan, in which a senior citizen spent over $20,000 buying merchandise pursuing the false hope of winning a sweepstakes.

"We've got to take the profit motive out of the sweepstakes scams so we can shut down the deceptive operations," Levin said. "Congress has made efforts in the past to stop these scams, but they continue unabated. In this cat and mouse game, it is time for the federal government to stop acting like a pussy cat and become a tiger against the scam artists who so shamelessly prey on the vulnerable with deception and deceit."

Michigan Assistant Attorney General Stanley (Skip) Pruss testified that sweepstakes complaints rank in the top ten consumer complaints in Michigan and that he had led a crackdown on fraudulent sweepstakes operators in Michigan.