GeorgiaCares warns Georgians about Spanish sweepstake scam

ATLANTA (GA) – The GeorgiaCares Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) project wants to warn Georgia’s seniors and others to be aware of the El Gordo Spanish Sweepstake lottery scam which claims that the recipient has won money in an international lottery.

SMP, which is administered through the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Aging Services (DAS), is informing consumers that scammers are sending letters in an attempt to initiate a dialogue with potential victims and subsequently trick them into sending money.

The recipient is asked to complete a lottery payment processing form that requests personal information such as the person’s name, address and nationality; bank account name, address, routing and telephone numbers; and next of kin contact information.

The scammers also request 10 percent of the total sweepstakes lottery winnings, but there is no El Gordo Spanish Sweepstake and no prize money.

“We want to alert Georgians, especially seniors, about the Spanish Sweepstake lottery scam so they will not become victims,” said Maria Greene, director of DAS. “We are advising consumers if they receive a call saying they’ve won something and are asked for money or personal information, to hang up. If they receive a mailing asking them to join an out of state or foreign lottery, they should disregard the letter. And they should never give out their bank account number to anyone they don’t know.”

For more information or to report suspected fraud, please contact the Federal Trade Commission at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm, the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs at 404-651-8600 (toll free at 800-869-1123) or www.consumer.ga.gov, or GeorgiaCares Senior Medicare Patrol toll free at 1-800-669-8387.

login to post comments