Royal British Lotto - British Random Lotto - Zenith Financial Management Group - North American Agent I got a check in the for sum of 1,997.80 from Royal British Lotto with a letter saying I was one of 23 winners I would receive a total of 107,646.00 .The check looked so real but a believer in if it is to good to be true most of the time is. ripoff Halifax Nova Scotia

This "lottery scam" is everywhere lately. Take all of it, envelope included, to the post office and file a mail fraud report.

First, it is illegal for Americans to enter foreign lotteries in the first place.

US Citizens and International Lotteries:

It is illegal for US Citizens to enter foreign lotteries:

Federal Statute: Racketeering

US Code Title 18, Part I, Chapter 95

(( link redacted by ROR))

TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I - CRIMES
CHAPTER 95 - RACKETEERING

Sec. 1953. Interstate transportation of wagering paraphernalia

(a) Whoever, except a common carrier in the usual course of its business, knowingly carries or sends in interstate or foreign commerce any record, paraphernalia, ticket, certificate, bills, slip, token, paper, writing, or other device used, or to be used, or adapted, devised, or designed for use in

(a) bookmaking; or

(b) wagering pools with respect to a sporting event; or

(c) in anumbers, policy, bolita, or similar game

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than five years or both.

(b) This section shall not apply to

(1) parimutuel betting equipment, parimutuel tickets where legally acquired, or parimutuel materials used or designed for use at racetracks or other sporting events in connection with which betting is legal under applicable State law, or

(2) the transportation of betting materials to be used in the placing of bets or wagers on a sporting event into a State in which such betting is legal under the statutes of that State, or

(3) the carriage or transportation in interstate or foreign commerce of any newspaper or similar publication, or

(4) equipment, tickets, or materials used or designed for use within a State in a lottery conducted by that State acting under authority of State law, or

(5) the transportation in foreign commerce to a destination in a foreign country of equipment, tickets, or materials designed to be used within that foreign country in a lottery which is authorized by the laws of that foreign country.

(c) Nothing contained in this section shall create immunity from criminal prosecution under any laws of any State, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, territory, possession, or the District of Columbia.

(d) For the purposes of this section

(1) ''State'' means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States; and

(2) ''foreign country'' means any empire, country, dominion, colony, or protectorate, or any subdivision thereof (other than the United States, its territories or possessions).

(e) For the purposes of this section ''lottery'' means the pooling of proceeds derived from the sale of tickets or chances and allotting those proceeds or parts thereof by chance to one or more chance takers or ticket purchasers. ''Lottery'' does not include the placing or accepting of bets or wagers on sporting events or contests.

Scam "lottery winner" letters will usually contain one or more of these phrases or variations that are similar (notice the recurring pleas for secrecy):

*All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 30,000 names from Australia, New Zealand, America, Asia, Europe, Africa, USA and North America as part of our International Promotions Program, which will subsequently be conducted annually.

*Mention of any kind of claim agent.

*"Due to the mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep this award strictly from public notice until your claim has been processed and your money remitted to your account. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by participants of this program."

*"N.B. Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to disqualification."
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*"You are seriously advised to keep all winning lottery information and numbers from the public in line with our company security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by unscrupulous individuals."