Walton Hills Police Department

7595 Walton Road    Walton Hills, Ohio 44146    (440) 232-1313
A Community Oriented Policing Agency

September 21, 2006
                                                                               SCAM ALERT
Dear Fellow Resident:

This letter is being sent to all Village residents informing you of what is known to law enforcement as “Foreign Lotteries.”  No matter how good you feel your chances are at winning, these are lottery games that you cannot win.  Recently there has been a lot of concern with these so-called lottery letters being sent to our residents.  According to the Federal Trade Commission, billions of dollars each year are lost to consumers by scam artists who create these frauds and try to take your money and steal your identity.

If you receive a letter in the mail concerning lotteries that you have not entered, such as credit card loss protection letters, advance fee loans or anything else that sounds too good to be true, please bring it to our attention.  Do not become a victim of fraud.  In most cases, these scam artists, operate outside of the United States. 

Please do not ever give out your banking information, your mother’s maiden name, your credit card numbers, or any other information to these individuals.  Some of these scam artists even follow up their letters by contacting you by phone.  Consumers must understand that it is illegal for foreign lotteries to take place in this country.  If someone contacts you to participate in a foreign lottery, such as the “British Random Lottery,” please do not play into their hands, it is a scam.  Some of these scam artists will send you a check to deposit into your bank account for money as high as $2,500.  Do not deposit these checks, because they are not real and, in some cases, the checks may be stolen.  Contact the Walton Hills Police Department at 440-232-1313 for assistance. 

Consumers who receive information via the Internet or in the mail are asked to look at the Federal Trade Commission website at http://www.ftc.gov.  The Walton Hills Police Department will speak with anyone who has been subjected to this type of fraud or to anyone who has received any such mailings from these criminals.  There are brochures available at the Village Hall concerning these offenses and other material relevant to identity theft.

The Village website, http://www.waltonhillsoh.org, also has information regarding what was covered in this letter, plus links to other websites which might help you determine if you have been a target of these scams or a victim of identity theft.  If you should have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Warm personal regards,

Gary Rhines                                                     Marlene B. Anielski
Chief of Police                                                 Mayor/Safety Director