Scam letter targets local woman

By VANESSA CLARKE SHORTLEY

Staff Writer

Rose Sullivan got a surprise when she opened her mailbox Saturday.

Inside was a letter with a Canadian stamp.

"Normally, it's something I'd have thrown out, but the stamp was so pretty," she said.

She opened the envelope and found a letter, along with a check for $4,977.28.

The letter explained the unexpected cash flow as being part of Sullivan's winnings from the "National Lotto Co-Operation Sweepstakes Lottery." The lottery had been held, according to the letter, July 12.

"You are therefore entitled to the sum of $150,000.00 US Dollars," the letter stated. "This is from a total prize money of $1.5 Million US Dollars that was shared and presented among the other ten declared winners."

The letter went on to say the enclosed check was a part of Sullivan's winnings, something to "enable you to pay the applicable government processing fees on your big winning." All Sullivan would have to do is pay $2,998 via Western Union or Moneygram to the tax agent, whose name was listed as James Anderson.

The Free Press contacted Anderson at the number listed in Sullivan's letter Wednesday evening.

After answering the phone and asking for the claim number, Anderson hung up when asked how exactly the sweepstakes worked.

The number for Anderson in the letter was a Canadian number, with an Ontario area code.

Sullivan also called Anderson.

"I asked him, ‘What kind of scam are you running,' " she said. "His reply was, ‘That is a stupid question.' "

Sullivan said she told him she had contacted the Department of Justice. Anderson told her, she said, not to contact him again and hung up.

Sullivan said she also left a message on the non-emergency number at the Kinston Department of Public Safety. Neither agency had contacted her about the scam as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The nearly $5,000 check was issued from The Bank of New Canaan, a legitimate bank in New Canaan, Conn. An after-hours call to the bank was not immediately returned.

However, Sullivan said she phoned the bank herself and was told the account was once legitimate but "someone had gotten hold of the account number and was writing bogus checks on the account."

Sullivan herself said the legitimate look of the check - it has the names of real businesses on it, as well as watermarks - almost had her fooled.

Even though the check was a fake, Sullivan said the money would have come in handy.

"I could've used the money," she said. "My kids could've had a nice Christmas. But it's a scam."

Vanessa C. Shortley can be reached at (252) 559-1076 or vshortley@freedomenc.com. Check out Vanessa's blog at http://vclarke.encblogs.com.

If you receive a letter you think is a scam, contact local police and the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338).