How to report

Sweepstakes and Prize Scams - What to do

How to Report them And File a Complaint

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To File a Complaint

Consumers who believe they have been victimized by fraudulent promotional offers also should contact:

• if they received it in the mail, their local postmaster or the U.S. Postal Inspection Service by phone, toll-free, at: 1-888-877-7644; by email at: www.uspsoig.gov; or by mail at: U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Office of Inspector General, Operations Support Group, 222 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1250, Chicago, IL 60606-6100.

If you have a problem with a sweepstakes or prize promotion after participating, and you are unable to resolve the problem directly with the company, contact:

• The Direct Marketing Association, ConsumerLine, 1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20036-3603; phone 202-955-5030; fax 202-955-0085.
• The Better Business Bureau where the company is located.
• Call for Action, a network of radio and television station hotlines that offer resolution services for consumers. Call 301-657-7490 or write: Call for Action, 5272 River Road, Suite 300, Bethesda, MD 20816.

Call for Action, the international non-profit network of hotlines working in partnership with radio and television stations, resolves consumer problems through free and confidential mediation.

CALL FOR ACTION INC
5272 RIVER ROAD STE 300
BETHESDA MD 20816-1405
301-657-8260

According to the real Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. government's chief consumer protection agency, consumers can keep from falling for the lure of the sweepstakes scam by taking a few precautions. For example, the FTC says:

FTC Consumer Alert

Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection Office of Consumer & Business Education

Take control of the calls you receive. If you want to reduce the number of telemarketing

calls you receive, place your telephone number on the National Do Not Call Registry.

To register online, visit www.donotcall.gov. To register by phone, call 1-888-382-1222

(TTY: 1-866-290-4236) from the phone number you wish to register.

File a complaint with the FTC. If your number has been on the National Do Not Call

registry for at least 31 days, and a telemarketer calls, file a complaint with the FTC.

To file a complaint online, visit www.donotcall.gov. To file a complaint by phone, call

1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236). If you receive a call from someone claiming

to be a representative of the government trying to arrange for you to collect supposed

sweepstakes winnings, file a complaint at ftc.gov. It's most helpful to enforcement

officials if your complaints include the date and time of the call and the name or phone

number of the organization that called you. Although scammers may call using a

telephone number that disguises their location, law enforcers may be able to track that

number to identify the caller.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices

in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file

a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTCHELP

(1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity

theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available

to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

1-877-FTC-HELP FOR THE CONSUMER

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ftc.gov

October 2005

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Names of Scam / Fake / Fraud Lottery 

Click here for the huge list of the names of the currently identified lottery scams companies

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