Police warn of sweepstake scam

MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- Police are investigating two letters Milford residents have received claiming they won money in a sweepstake.

Both residents thought this was suspicious and notified police.

The envelope had a letter claiming they won $225,000 with a check made out in their recipient's name for a sum of $4,685 to help pay for the processing fee of $3,900, police said.

According to a press release, the letter further advises the recipient to contact a designated claim agent to begin their claim process. The claim agent will advise the recipient to deposit the check into their personal bank account and then send them the $3,900 processing fee via Western Union. They will provide the recipient with names and an address to send the funds to sometimes dividing the payments between two points of contact with the same address. Once this is completed, they will ask the recipient for the MTCN (Money Transfer Case Number) for their electronic wiring service transaction. Once this number is provided to the scammer they can obtain the money which is usually untraceable.

"Nova Capital Financial Services" is in the header of the letter and the check has the business name "Cash Time Title Loans, LLC" on them, police reported.

Police are warning residents not to respond to any unsolicited mail, phone calls or emails claiming they have won a lottery or sweepstakes, especially when it requires you to send money for processing or acceptance fees.