Along with a letter claiming she had won $50,000 in a sweepstakes, a Minneapolis woman was surprised to find a check last week for $3,100. She learned too late the check was bogus. The 61-year-old woman was instructed to call a toll-free number to collect her winnings. But when she did, she was told she first had to pay taxes on it. She wired a total of $3,400. The woman, who is disabled, lives on $900 a month in government support. "I spent my last $10 on groceries," she said.
Bill White, a Minnesota special agent for alcohol and gambling, warned of such frauds. "You never have to pay in order to win if it is a genuine lottery sweepstakes, " White said. If you get such a letter, call MNSCAMS at 1-866-347-0911.or file a report here. Sometimes, he said, the state can recover the funds.
