|
NEWARK
– The New Jersey Division of Consumer
Affairs is warning consumers about a “Financial
Recovery Awards” scam mailing sent
to homeowners in flood-affected areas.
Homeowners
in Little Falls received a mailed letter
that begins, “STATEMENT OF YOUR BENEFITS,”
and states, “The Payment Security
Administration (PSA) has determined that
you shall receive entitlements and a Financial
Recovery Award of up to $27,500.00.”
The
letter asks recipients to mail a “Benefit
Consent Form” to a post office box
in Canada, along with a “Processing
Fee” of $29.97 paid by check, money
order, or credit card authorization.
The
fine print on the back page includes language
about sweepstakes rules. State and federal
law, however, are clear that that no sweepstakes
can require consumers to make a payment
in order to receive a prize.
“Consumers
should be extremely cautious with any request
that they send money to an unknown person
or business,” Thomas R. Calcagni,
Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs,
said. “By sending a check, you are
giving the recipient your bank account information
and the bank’s routing number. With
this information, or with an authorization
to charge your credit card, you expose yourself
to unauthorized withdrawals of your hard-earned
money.”
Calcagni
noted that consumers should beware of any
mailer or advertisement that, like the “Payment
Security Administration” mailer, has
any of these signs of a possible scam:
- Offering
huge prizes in exchange for small, up-front
payments;
- The
use of an official-sounding but unverifiable
name; for example, if an Internet search
reveals that an agency by that name may
not actually exist;
- Fine
print that includes unclear or confusing
language; or
- The
request that payments be sent outside
the United States.
“Anyone
who receives this mailer should immediately
contact the Division of Consumer Affairs,”
Calcagni continued. “The residents
of New Jersey’s flood-affected areas
have experienced enough stress and suffering,
without the additional insult of being scammed.”
This
scam alert follows the Division of Consumer
Affairs’ earlier warning that consumers
watch out for post-hurricane home repair
scams and charity scams (see the press release
at www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases11/pr20110830a.html).
The Division continues to investigate reports
of alleged price gouging during the State
of Emergency (see the press release at www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases11/pr20110827a.html).
Consumers
who believe they have been cheated or scammed
by a business, or suspect any other form
of consumer abuse, can file a complaint
with the State Division of Consumer Affairs
by visiting its website, www.NJConsumerAffairs.com,
or by calling 1-800-242-5846
(toll free within New Jersey) or 973-504-6200.
Follow
the Division of Consumer Affairs on Facebook,
at www.facebook.com/pages/NJ-Division-of-Consumer-Affairs/112957465445651.
Check our online calendar of upcoming Consumer
Outreach events, at www.nj.gov/oag/ca/outreach/.
### |
