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WA state and federal laws governing lotteries

Asked over 3 years ago - Pasco, WA

Fraud

STRANGE QUESTION. I RECEIVED ONE OF THOSE "YOU WON A LOTTO, YOU JUST HAVE TO CALL BEFORE YOU CASH.." LETTERS. I KNOW THAT THIS IS A SCAM TO GET MY PERSONAL INFORMATION. BUT, IT REALLY DOES LOOK LIKE A REAL CHECK. ACCOUNT NUMBER AND WATER MARKS, AND A REAL BANK THAT I CHECKED OUT ONLINE.
SO, HERE IS THE QUESTION, HOW DO I FIND OUT IF IT IS A REAL ACCOUNT? AND IF SO, CAN THEY GET PERSONAL INFORMATION IF I CASH IT?

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Attorney answers (1)

Thuong-Tri Nguyen

Reputation Level 20

Answered over 3 years ago. Family Law Attorney in Renton, WA.

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Did you participate in a lottery? If not, why would you be winning a prize in a lottery to which you did not participate? In the US, only the state governments run lotteries. There are federal laws that heavily regulate lotteries.

The checks are mostly processed by machines now. Special magnetic ink is used so that the machines can read the information. The information that you see may not match the information in the magnetic ink.

One trick of debt collectors and others is to send a check for a small amount to a person. When cashed, the person's checking information (account and routing numbers) is on the cashed check. With a routing number and account number, an unscrupulous party can drain the account by electronic debits.

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