Dear Sun Spots: I received a letter from a concern called United Claims Center, 3700 Griffith, Suite 95, St. Laurent, Q.C., Canada H4T2133. This form letter instructed me to mail a small sum of money for the right to claim a sizable amount of money. Has anyone else received this type of letter or does Sun Spots know anything about the legitimacy of this Canadian firm? Searching the Web and trying to get a telephone number has brought me no results. – Questioning, Jay.

Answer: Sun Spots found plenty of chatter on the Web from recipients of the same sweepstakes notification that you received. The fact that you mentioned “form letter” brings “bulk mail” or “mass mailing” to mind, and according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

This Web chatter linked to the Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus Sweepstakes Fraud Alert page at www.canadiancouncilbbb.ca/prizepress.html, which posts an alert cautioning consumers about a surge in fraudulent cross-border sweepstakes notifications.

The Canadian Council advises consumers to remember the following if they receive a letter or phone call announcing that they have won money:

• Are you being directed to pay a fee upfront or purchase a product in order to “win” a sweepstakes contest or collect a sweepstakes prize? U.S. law prohibits requirements that you buy something to enter a sweepstakes contest or to receive sweepstakes mailings.

• Ask yourself if you had ever actually entered this company’s sweepstakes? You probably did not.

• Read the fine print on the sweepstakes offer or entry form. Usually it says something to the effect that you win, IF your number is selected or IF your number is one of the winning numbers.

• Be wary of any check enclosed with the promotion. The mailing of fake checks that don’t clearly state that they are nonnegotiable and have no cash value is against the law.

• Don’t be deceived by seals, names or terms that imply an affiliation with or endorsement by the federal government. It’s illegal for a promoter to misrepresent an affiliation with a government agency or other well-known organization.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service warns that it happens every day, “Thousands of people are notified by mail that they have won a free prize. Usually, it’s a postcard notice that says your prize will be one of four or five ‘valuable’ items, a new car, a vacation, a color television, or a $1,000 savings bond. Major companies sometimes give away expensive items in special promotions, but they usually don’t notify winners with a postcard. Typically, these notices are mailed by con artists whose sole purpose is to rip you off.”

If you feel you have been a victim of sweepstakes scam or to report a potential scam, mail correspondence to U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Criminal Investigations Service Center, Attn: Mail Fraud, 222 S. Riverside Plaza STE 1250, Chicago, IL 60606-6100, or file a complaint on the Web at www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFraudComplaint.htm.

To file a Canadian cross-border mail fraud complaint, in addition to alerting the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, send correspondence to the Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus, 2 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 800, Toronto, ON, M4T 2T5, Canada or e-mail [email protected].

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