Free money? Not so.

By Nate Delesline III

Published: July 4, 2008

The Culpeper County Commonwealth’s Attorney is warning residents to be on the lookout for a sweepstakes scam letter that may be arriving in local mailboxes.

Culpeper resident Carol Geer said her husband James received one of the letters Wednesday.

“What happened is he received a letter saying that we had won a lottery with a check attached to it for $3,900,” Geer said. “And the letter stated that he had won a sweepstakes for $100,000.”

Geer said the letter then instructed him to deposit the check into their account and wire $2,900 back to the sender to cover the costs of processing their award.

But Geer, an employee of the Culpeper County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, thought it looked suspicious and brought it into work for a closer examination.

“We called the Virginia State Police on it,” she said.

“It’s really a very clever scam if you think about it,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary Close said. “They send you a check for $3,900, you deposit it in your account, then you wire $1,000 to them, but it doesn’t really matter because the check is no good to start with.

“It’s very slick.”

Geer said the letter has a Toronto, Ontario return address and the check is in the name of a legitimate Texas electric supply company.

According to the U.S. Postal Inspectors Web site, the offer Geer’s husband received bore classic hallmarks of a scam.

Postal Inspectors say that legitimate sweepstakes contests never ask for bank account or credit card information. They also should not demand payment to participate or collect a prize.

Close and Geer, who said she also filed a complaint with the post office, said they want everyone to be aware to avoid becoming a victim.

“I’m afraid that someone around here is going to get this and take it seriously and get in trouble,” she said.

Nate Delesline III can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 110 or .