(Spirit Lake)– If you get a letter in the mail saying you’ve won a prize, think twice before responding to it.
The recipient is offered a small amount of the winnings through a check that turns out to be bogus.
And, in order to claim the rest of the prize, the person needs to reply by giving their bank account information to facilitate the transfer. The victim’s bank account is then emptied.
Officials say many of the scams originate from outside the U.S. and are hard to track.
The Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office says it’s received reports of people in our area receiving such mail.
If you get such a solicitation, either through the mail, e-mail or any other means, you should simply rip it up and throw it away, or just delete the e-mail.
Officials say you should never give out personal information to an unknown or untrusted source.
