Beware lottery scams posing as “Make-A-Wish” foundation
If there’s one thing that really makes us angry at Scam Detectives HQ it’s when scammers use the good name of a genuine charity to give credibility to their scams.
The Make-a-Wish Foundation is one such charity. They do fantastic work with children who are suffering from life-threatening conditions, granting their “once in a lifetime” wishes.
When we heard that scammers were calling up people in the US claiming that they were representing Make-A-Wish and congratulating them on having won a “sweepstake” then we had to spread the word, as these scams often make their way around the world.
What’s the scam?
You receive a phone call from a “federal agent” telling you you’ve won a sweepstake run by the Foundation. In return for an advance payment of tax due on the winnings, you will receive your prize. Of course, there’s no sweepstake, no prize and your money will simply line the pockets of the scammers.
“This is a scam unlike any we have ever experienced before, both in terms of the amount of money that people are being tricked out of, and in terms of the lengths these scammers will go to convince callers they are actually federal agents,”
said Paul G. Allvin, vice president of marketing and communications for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.
“Many of the victims truly believed they would receive hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars in return for paying these taxes in advance. And they often dug into their savings or raided their retirement nest eggs to pay the money,” Allvin said. “It is a despicable act on the part of the scammers, particularly at a time when so many are suffering from the down economy.”
If you receive a telephone call or email approach purporting to be from the Foundation, please do not respond or make any payments.
If you would like to support the work of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, you can do so by making a secure donation here
Tags: Charity Scams
Thank you for bringing this to everyone’s attention. I am a volunteer with the Make A Wish Foundation UK and this type of scam makes me so angry. With the current economic climate, charities are finding it harder than ever to raise the money they need to carry out their work and this type of scam makes it even harder.
The work Make A Wish do is incredible. They don’t receive any government funding so all their income comes from public donations.
My role is to go and visit children when they are referred to us and their families to find out what their wish is. At times, I also get to attend the wish day. To see the look of joy on the families faces is priceless. The thought that for one day they can be normal, they can enjoy an amazing day without worrying about hospital visits. If these scammers could see what a difference Make A Wish makes to these families, they would be able to appreciate the damage that they are doing.
Hi Sally,
Thanks for your comment, and thank you for the work you do for Make A Wish. At Scam Detectives HQ we have the greatest of admiration for the work of the charity and it makes our blood boil when scammers use such an amazing organisation to line their own pockets.
Unfortunately, the scammers are fully aware of the work that Make A Wish do, and the difference they make to the lives of children all over the world. The sad truth is that they just don’t care about the harm they could cause to that work. It’s just another name to use in the furtherance of their dirty little frauds.
My mother in law has been plagued by this scam.She is 81 years old and they have called her over 8 times in the past 2 weeks. She was sucked in to giving her bank account info (even though she has been forewarned many times not to) and we had to change her bank account. Now we are changing the phone number that she has had for over 20 years thanks to these scumbags. I wish they could be caught and hung by their toes (or other painful body part). Thank you for having something that I can print out to show her in writing.