Gun and patrol car purchases OK'd

October 19, 2006

By BEN GARRETT
INDEPENDENT HERALD EDITOR

Oneida Police Department Officer Darryl Laxton is warning residents to beware of a European lottery scam that has already been attempted on one local woman. The letter claims that the recipient is the winner of a $50,000 lottery drawing but, in reality, is attempting to swindle $2,750 from the recipient.

Laxton investigated an incident in which an Oneida woman received a letter and a fake check from a company calling itself “Cardinal International, Inc.” and located in Bedford, a town in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.

There is an actual American company named Cardinal International, Inc. But the company is a glasswares company, located in New Jersey.

The letter informed the Oneida resident that she was an official winner in the European lottery’s “2nd category.” According to the letter, the lottery was held on March 3, 2006, but the check included with the letter was dated October 2, 2006.

The letter informs its recipient that he or she is the winner of a sum of $50,000, part of a $9 million purse being shared among 180 winners. The winners, the letter claims, were selected through a computer ballot system drawn “from over 10 million utility payments and registration.”

The check, written in the amount of $4,800, is supposedly written “from one of our sponsors to enable you to pay non-residence tax which must be paid before the final release of your funds.” The letter goes on to state that $2,750 must be sent to a “receiving agent” via a Western Union money transfer.

According to Officer Laxton, if the check were cashed, the person cashing the check would be responsible for repaying the bank the full amount.

Residents receiving similar letters should not cash the “check” included, but should contact local authorities.

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