A spokesperson for STARS Air Ambulance is warning people in western Canada about scammers phoning them to tell them they have won a STARS lottery.
On Sunday, Fatima Khawaja told Global News the not-for-profit often hears about a spike in calls by scam artists when one of their fundraising lotteries comes to an end. She said STARS’ Saskatchewan lottery recently wrapped up.
READ MORE: Newlywed Alberta couple in their 80s wins big in STARS lottery
A viewer told Global News on Sunday he had received a call from someone telling him he was the grand prize winner of a STARS lottery prize which included $100,000 and a new Ford Explorer. The viewer said the caller told him to meet him at a Walmart and to bring a Western Union money order for $795 in order to register the vehicle.
Khawaja said legitimate lottery winners’ names are posted on the organization’s website and that winners will also receive “snail mail” from STARS to indicate if they have won a prize. She added lottery winners will never be asked for money in order to claim a prize. She also said winners are called on the actual day of the draw.
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If anyone receives a call from someone claiming to be with STARS and asking for money in order to claim a prize, Khawaja said they should call the fraud line at their local police detachment.
She added that if someone is not sure if they have won a prize, they can email STARS at info@stars.ca.
Watch below: On April 18, 2016, Allie Miller filed this report about a newlywed Alberta couple in their 80s claimed who won a brand new show home in Sylvan Lake, Alta. through the STARS Lottery.
With the use of helicopters, STARS airlifts people who have been injured to hospital from rural communities, remote areas, highways or transfers them from community hospitals to other medical facilities in major urban centres.
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