OTEP

“Individual Asset Procurement”, “Preferenciating Winner”, “Allocation and Release Form”…

Don’t be blinded by the official sounding jargon in a letter congratulating you on being chosen out of more than 200,000 consumer database candidates to receive unallocated funds of $1,463,590.

People in WA have been receiving this mail recently from a company called OTEP.

The out-of-the-blue correspondence encourages you to simply send a release fee of $30 to a P.O. Box in Florida in order to obtain the prize.

You even get the option of pre-taxed lump sums, either over 12 months or three years.

The scammers attempt to make the letter look legit through a watermarked logo, signature of the supposed President of OTEP and a professional-looking bar-coded detachable form.

Do not be sucked in by the suggested urgency; a requirement for you to respond within 10 days. Also ignore claims there has been a special selection process declaring you as the ‘only’ winner.

Truth is, the same letter has probably been sent to thousands of others and you’ll never receive any money in return. But at $30 back for every person who falls for it, you can work out what motivates OTEP, or whoever the senders really are.