Sheriff’s Office cautions about lotto scam

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said residents should be wary of letters they may receive in the mail that say they have won the lottery and include a check for several thousand dollars.

The Sheriff’s Office said two people in Collier County lost about $4,000 each in this scam during the past two weeks, and others throughout the country have fallen victim to the scam.

Authorities said in this particular scam, attached to the letter is usually a check for several thousand dollars, along with instructions to use that check to pay insurance and processing fees in order to claim the winning.

Valid lotteries do not require a person to pay any money to receive winnings, authorities said.

The names often used in this scams are Lotto XChange, Money Camp International and Lotto Services, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The letter instructs the victim to deposit the check into their account and then wire a large portion of the check, usually 75 to 80 percent, to Canada or another country. Several days later, victims learn the check is counterfeit when their bank notifies them. The total amount of the check is then charged to their account, authorities said.

The Sheriff’s Office said that playing a foreign lottery through the mail or over the telephone is a violation of federal law.