MADERA COUNTY – Sheriff John Anderson is alerting citizens about a cash prize solicitation with a twist that’s proving to be a bit of a puzzler for citizens.
The latest financial offering comes from a company calling itself North American Award Center based in Kansas City, MO.
In order to win $21,000, the recipient must enter the competition by solving a qualifying puzzle on the mailer and return it along with a “registration fee” of $9.
The North Fork senior citizen who received the cash prize announcement says she’s been inundated with similar offerings from this company.
She said she wasn’t sure it’s a scam, but to be sure, she refused to respond and instead sent it to the Sheriff.
The fine print reads on the mailer reads: “A correct solution to the Qualifying Puzzle will GUARNTEE next-round advancement!”
In response, Sheriff Anderson says this mailer is yet another pay-to-play sweepstakes solicitation.
According to https://www.consumer.ftc.gov, “there’s a big difference between legitimate sweepstakes and fraudulent ones. Prizes in legitimate contests are awarded solely by chance, and contestants don’t have to pay a fee or buy something to enter or increase their odds of winning. In fraudulent schemes, however, ‘winners’ almost always have to dip into their pockets to enter a contest or collect their ‘prize.'”
