Federal authorities say they have paid extra attention to cases like these that target seniors through the postal service.<\/p>\n
This case highlights the importance of reporting these scams to authorities, so law enforcement agents like our Postal Inspectors can have the information necessary to help bring justice to hundreds of thousands of victims through these large, successful cases,\u201d said Inspector in Charge Delany De L\u00e9on-Col\u00f3n of the US Postal Inspection Service\u2019s Criminal Investigations Group in the release.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The FBI\u2019s Elder Fraud page says that the sweepstakes prize scam is one of several that defraud seniors out of more than $3 billion annually.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re often marks because, as the FBI says, \u201cthey tend to be trusting and polite. They also usually have financial savings, own a home, and have good credit\u2014all of which make them attractive to scammers.\u201d<\/p>\n
How to Avoid Becoming a Victim<\/h2>\n
Often, if something seems too good to be true \u2013 like an unexpected letter claiming you\u2019ve won thousands of dollars \u2013 then it usually is.<\/p>\n
The FBI<\/a> urges individuals who receive such mailings to check them out on the Internet. Enter the company\u2019s name, address, and contact information in a Google search. In most cases, other people will have submitted complaints about those companies or individuals.<\/p>\nIndividuals who believe they or a loved one have been targeted for a sweepstakes scheme are urged to call their local FBI field office. They also can submit information online at tips.fbi.gov.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A 50-year-old Las Vegas woman received a three-year federal prison sentence Wednesday for her role in a $9 million criminal scheme. The action targeted mostly elderly and other vulnerable victims who received fraudulent mailers claiming they won prizes. In addition to the prison time, Andrea Burrow was also sentenced to three subsequent years of supervised […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":161258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Vegas Woman Gets Three Years in Prison for Role in Sweepstakes Scam<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n