Bankruptcy Indiana

After almost twenty-five years as an Indiana bankruptcy lawyer, I have come to realize that most people, prior to filing bankruptcy, suffered an illness (or perhaps someone in the family has been ill or hurt), lost a job, or went through some other catastrophic event.  What truly breaks my heart is seeing scammers and identity thieves pushing people over the brink, adding theft to their already crushing financial problems.

A recent story in the Wall Street Journal caught my attention. Over the course of a year, relatives discovered that their uncle, a gentleman in his mid 70's, had wired $23,000 to strangers, believing he was paying taxes in advance on the huge lottery winnings he was about to receive. According to WSJ reporter Karen Blumenthal, lottery and sweepstakes scams are particularly effective with the elderly.

I know.  Back in January of this year, I alerted readers to a sweepstakes scam that many residents of Anderson and Ft. Wayne were reporting.  In that instance, the scammers sent fake checks that looked like Purdue Credit Union cashier's checks, promising that after the recipients had cashed the checks and sent in money for "processing fees", they'd receive sweepstakes winnings of $150,000. The Better Business Bureau of Ft. Wayne had issued an alert about this scam.

Please, please, stay on alert.  The basic idea behind this sweepstake scam and behind most other types of scams is to have criminals get enough personal information about you to be able to open credit cards in your name, get checks in your name, and pay for things in your name.  According to About.com, thieves can even get arrested, giving your name and identity to the police!  When the criminal skips bail, you're the one left holding the bag! 

When you are asked for personal information (social security number, bank account numbers, etc.) in order to "qualify" you to win a lottery or sweepstakes, remember that all that information can be used to steal from you.

Suspected scams should be reported as quickly as possible to the Indiana Attorney General's office.  (The Attorney General's website also describes different scams and offers tips on how to separate legitimate sweepstakes from scams.)  In difficult financial times, easy money from winning a sweepstakes can sound especially good, but becoming a victim of identity theft is the last thing any of us wants to go through.  Worst of all, in my mind, are the predators who specifically target victims who have filed bankruptcy and who are trying hard to get back on their financial feet.