When crimes occur we very often need assistance from the public in capturing the perpetrators. We'll post information in this section about the crime and also what you need to be on the lookout for so that you are not victimized.
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On August 17, 2007 the Crawford County Sheriff's Office received complaints from two citizens concerning their winnings in a lottery in which they had not participated. Each complainant had responded to surveys in the past and suddenly received notices that they had been selected as a winner based on their address. Both complainants received identical notifications in handwritten envelopes with no return address. The envelopes contain letters of confirmation from the Nevada Stakes Lottery and the Australian Lottery with numbers to call. Our office has traced the envelopes to a Canadian sender and the telephone numbers contain Canadian area codes. Both complainants also received fraudulent checks from at&t and Lion Industrial Properties. While the checks appear legitimate, close examination reveals them to be fraudulent.
Instructions to the winner of the lotteries instruct them to contact certain telephone numbers to confirm their identity and to receive instructions on cashing the checks. This is a ploy to obtain you personal information and also how to cash the checks, send the funds to Canada, and to not tell anyone about your winnings until the funds have cleared the bank. The checks sent to the victim, of course, are not honored and the winner of the lottery loses their money. The victims we’ve spoke to received checks totaling more than $6,000.00 each.
Anyone receiving notification of winning a lottery that fits the description described in this press release is urged not to respond by calling the enclosed Canadian or toll free number or cashing the check(s) included in the notification packet.
The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office is initiating an investigation into these incidents and anticipates involving federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and Postal Inspector’s Office. The purpose of this press release is to warn the public that this scam is occurring in our county and possible other counties in middle Georgia.
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