Couple nearly victims of lottery scam

Comment #17

puller23 — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 00:58:13 GMT

i need numbers for mother in law please.

Comment #16

time*treat — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:15:20 GMT

The 'logic' involved does not follow how modern banking works. That's the problem people are running into.

When you cash/deposit a check:

depending on its amountif your balance will cover it, andwhether you've had any other issues with your account within 6 mos. or sowhere the issuing bank is located

you are given an immediate release/credit for the first $500 or so. A couple days later, another $1000 or $2000 may be released and so on. It can take 5 or more days to complete the t... [ More ]

Comment #15

gewonnen — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:31:29 GMT

Hi all.

Something similar happened to us a few years back. Before I ever heard of these scams. Ours was a Postal Moneyorder(2) in a handwritten envelope. It looked so real.

After the first happy-dance, we thought about it though and drove to consumer affairs to check it out, since the dates on the letter seemed odd. They called the postoffice, sent us over there and confirmed , that eventhough the moneyorder looked real it was a fake.

I'm glad we looked at the date before trying to ca... [ More ]

Comment #14

stavros — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 20:37:08 GMT

A similar incident happened to a friend of mine. She cashed a couple of checks, on two separate occassions, at the bank where her account was, which was also the bank the checks were drawn on. The tellers cashed the checks for her, and then they hit her later because there was insufficient funds in the account that the checks were drawn on, and wanted the money returned. She used the same logic asking why the bank would cash the checks if there was no money in the account. She went to the VP... [ More ]

Comment #13

justxploring — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 20:16:41 GMT

I thought there was something wrong with this article when I first read it. Something is definitely missing. Taking a check to the bank against which a check is written is safer than depositing it in your own bank, so I agree with your statement. I don't see how any teller could withdraw money from an invalid account.

However, if I deposit a bad check in my account, I am held responsible for that check. So this couple would have been in trouble. That's why many stores now use a check v... [ More ]

Comment #12

mylollipop — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 05:25:58 GMT

If the bank teller validated the check as good from their own bank! How could the couple be responsible for the bad check. The person who WROTE the check is responsible for the bad check. I can understand the desire to believe, especially when those medical bills pile up and they are greivously delinquent. I comment the couple on taking the check to the bank it was drawn on. It amazes me that the teller did not look at the account it was drawn on to validate the authencity of the account an... [ More ]

Comment #11

spy153 — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:46:29 GMT

I think its the bank's responsibility to validate the check period.

Comment #10

moose — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 04:16:08 GMT

First of all, I have noticed that people in the USA seem to think that all scams for lotteries seem to originate in Canada. C'mon, people, you cannot be that naive!!!!!Please tell me that you use Ouija boards also. For god's sake, we in Canada are just like you in the US. We eat the same foods, we drink beer,(although with different names) You have probably over 150 million people in the US, we have 26 million. YOU DON'T THINK THIS WOULD HAPPEN MORE FROM YOUR OWN COUNTRY THAN FROM LI'L OLE CA... [ More ]

Comment #9

LckyLary — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 01:05:52 GMT

I don't think it's right that if someone is victim of a scam they themselves can be prosecuted for bank fraud. If anything if the bank gave them the money they should only have the recourse of maybe putting a lien on their property but not criminal charges! I think it should be the bank's responsibility to validate the source of the funds, maybe hold the check a few days and once it's validated then pay it if it's legit.

Comment #8

eddessaknight — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:58:48 GMT

Jux-

Again, does this make sense if she believed she won a real lottery? ~J

The compelling desire to win can be so strong that it overcomes common sense. It is a phenomena that affects all gamblers i.e suckers as they say in Vegas.

A fish can't be caught unless it has it's mouth open!

Caveta Emptor for those who seek something for nothing: usually t... [ More ]

Comment #7

stavros — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:39:17 GMT

Perhaps US authorites should do some public service announcements which would include the following:

...particularly with the Canadian lotteries. All lottery payments are in cash, with no deductions. These winnings are not taxable in Canada if you win on this lottery. There is no further liability for any amount, and you actually get 100% of the prize amount that is forecast.

If a Canadian wins the Canadian lottery, the funds are given to the winner in cash, with no tax liabilitie... [ More ]

Comment #6

DoubleDown — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:23:10 GMT

Good to see you back posting again, Tenaj...

Comment #5

Tenaj — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:08:10 GMT

I think deep down inside people know that they didn't win a lottery but their actions do the opposite. The human mind is complex. Scam factor is surpressed because they want it to be true so badly. So they fool themselves. They tell themselves lies. I think all kinds of red flags goes off in their minds that get buried deeper and deeper all the way to the Bank Teller.

I think it's the human thought process, greed, and need that makes these kind of scams work. But for the most part - t... [ More ]

Comment #4

DoubleDown — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 19:10:18 GMT

But yet and still, people continue to fall for these scams .

They forget to use common sense. They get blinded by the flashes of dollar signs.

The Gadwah's were lucky, albeit stupid to follow the money trail as far as they did.

Comment #3

justxploring — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 18:48:23 GMT

According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, consumers send $120 million a year to those running bogus lottery schemes.

Mrs. Gadwah said she bought a ticket several years earlier, which made it easier for her to believe she'd won. Honestly, I don't think I'm scam-proof, but I have little sympathy for these people. That statement doesn't make any sense. Even if I got something in the mail telling me I won the Florida raffle, I'd wonder how that was possible. Yes, I did buy a ticket in... [ More ]

Comment #2

RJOh — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:57:11 GMT

We thought the check was our answer to a lot of prayers, said Susan Gadwah, who received notice through the mail last week she was a $450,000 winner in a Canadian lottery, along with a check for $4,700

Where are people getting their information about God if they really believe he's running a Canadian lottery and mailing out checks in answer to their prayers

Comment #1

DoubleDown — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:09:15 GMT

Evidently, the Gadwah's did not check out USA mega ...

But I'm glad they found out it was a scam before it was too late.

Couple nearly victims of lottery scam

Lottery Post — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 14:53:00 GMT

A Francestown, New Hampshire, couple already living on the edge came close to financial ruin after almost getting sucked into what authorities suspect was a foreign lottery scam.

We thought the check was our answer to a lot of prayers, said Susan Gadwah, who received notice through the mail last week she was a $450,000 winner in a Canadian lottery, along with a check for $4,700 to cover non-Canadian residency tax deducted from her winnings.

When she went to a Goffstown branch of Bank o... [ More ]