Telemarketing and Telephone ServicesPrizes & Sweepstakes
Microsites
- Who's Calling? Recognize & Report Phone Fraud
Explains several deceptive telemarketing schemes, and how you can protect yourself against them. Includes two short videos.
Facts for Consumers
- Refund and Recovery Scams [PDF]
Warns consumers about scammers who charge upfront fees to recover money lost to fraudulent promotions.
- 10 Things You Can Do to Avoid Fraud [PDF] [BROCHURE] [en español]
Provides consumers with 10 tips for avoiding mass marketing fraud.
- A JOLT from the Blue:
Jamaican Fraudsters Using Telemarketing to Target U.S. Consumers [PDF]
Warns U.S. consumers about fraudulent telemarketers based in Jamaica who are calling people in the U.S., telling them that they’ve won a sweepstakes or foreign lottery. Explains the collaboration between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Jamaican Constabulary Force to inform consumers about these scams and stop them. 8.5”x11”, 2 pages .
- Prize Offers: You Don't Have to Pay to Play
[PDF]
[en español]
Offers tips for consumers on how to avoid prize and sweepstakes rip-offs. 8.5"x11", 4 pages.
Consumer Alerts
- International Lottery Scams [PDF]
- "I'm from the Government…": Sweepstakes Scams Feature Con Artists Impersonating Government Officials [PDF] [en español]
- Money for Resettled Refugees [PDF]
- Scammers Exploit the FTC’s Good Name, Promise Phony Sweepstakes Prizes [PDF]
Articles You can reprint these articles in your newsletter, magazine or website.
- Don't Let Scams Artists Make You a Lottery Loser [PDF]
A current ploy used by some criminals is to lure Americans into buying phony "low-risk" chances in supposed high-stakes foreign lotteries. Victims of these scams not only lose their money, but also risk violating federal law, which generally prohibits playing lotteries by phone or mail.
