The FBI’s Atlanta office is warning of a scam involving the Mega Millions Lottery that uses the agency’s name, as well as the name of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
People who are contacted receive “very convincing” fake letters that name the above agencies, and the recipients are told that they are lottery winners, FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett said. The advance-fee part of the scam begins by requiring the so-called winner to transfer, by wire, thousands of dollars to the “lottery official” to secure the winnings.
A photo that claimed to show three FBI agents was sent as further proof of the scam’s apparent authenticity.
Advance fees via wire transfer or other means make stopping or tracing a transaction almost impossible, Emmett said.
Anyone receiving such scam notifications is asked to file a report with the FBI at www.IC3.gov.
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