United States - FTC Action Halts Global Sweepstakes Scam Targeting Older Consumers

At the FTC’'s request, a federal court has temporarily halted a sweepstakes operation targeting older consumers that took more than $28 million from consumers throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. According to the FTC’s complaint and other court filings, the Florida-based defendants mailed consumers official-looking personalized letterswith seals, stamps, and identification numbers.The letters falsely told consumers that they had won large cash prizes, typically more than $2 million. The letters said prizes were “guaranteed,” but to collect the money, consumers had to mail the defendants a $20-$30 fee by cash, check or money order. To create a false sense of urgency, they set a deadline, typically 10 days, and warned consumers they would forfeit their winnings if they didn’t pay on time.  In reality, consumers had not won anything.The court issued an order that temporarily stopped the illegal conduct, froze the defendants’ assets, and appointed a receiver to control the operation while the FTC pursues the case.Federal criminal authorities arrested four defendants in connection with the sweepstakes operation.The FTC cooperated closely on this matter with several domestic law enforcement partners as well as with the Vancouver Police Department, the Windsor (Ontario) Police Service, and the Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom.