U.S. Postal Inspectors investigate any crime in which the U.S. mail is used to further a scheme; whether it originated in the mail, by telephone, or on the Internet. The use of the U.S. mail is what constitutes it as "mail fraud". This type of crime can also have many different scenarios, from employment fraud (work at home schemes) to financial fraud (charities, credit cards, etc.) to sweepstakes and lotteries, the topic of this section.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, a federal statue prohibits lottery mailings, yet they continue to arrive everyday. In many instances, you will receive a letter "congratulating" you on having won the (Canadian, Spanish, Australian, etc.) Lottery! In addition to providing details on how to obtain your "millions", you may also receive a check, payable in U.S. dollars, as a "down payment" toward your future gains.

The letter will instruct you to call a toll free number (located outside of the U.S.) where you will be given instructions on how to obtain your winnings. If you have received a check, you will be instructed to cash the check, keep some money for yourself, and told to wire the remaining funds back to the originating organization (generally via Western Union). Of course, you are also instructed to "lie" to your local financial institution as to how you came across the money (it was for the sale of an item, your relative owed you money, etc.) or why you need cash to wire money out (family emergency).

Once the money is wired out, you will not be able to get it back nor will you see any additional return of the "millions" promised. If you have cashed the check that was included with your letter, you will soon discover that it was counterfeit. This money will then be taken back out of your account, possibly leaving you overdrawn or without funds to pay your basic living expenses.

What steps can you take to protect yourself from becoming a victim to this type of fraud? Here are some tips:

• Do not cash any check provided to you in connection with any sweepstakes/lottery mailing.
• Do not send any money in connection with any sweepstakes/lottery request.
• Consider having your name removed from mailing lists by completing and mailing in the required form, available through the USPS at: www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/GetOffMailingLists.htm
  (requests cannot be made electronically at this time).

If, by chance, you have fallen victim to this type of scam, here are some tips to help you:

• File a complaint with your local law enforcement agency. Keep a copy of this report for your records.
• File a complaint with the U.S. Postal Inspectors office either through your local post office, or online at: https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MailFraudComplaint.aspx
  Keep a copy of this report for your records.
• Contact your financial institution immediately to alert them to the situation. Though the financial obligations are your responsibility, many institutions will offer whatever assistance they can.