Beware of Postcard Sweepstake Scams

“You’re a winner! Congratulations!” said the postcard from the National Unclaimed Sweepstakes Notification Bureau. The postcard told the recipient to call a toll-free number to find out about a “free prize offer.”

The 40,000 people who called the number did not get a prize. Instead, they got a government recording giving them advice about recognizing sweepstake scams.

U.S. postal inspectors last week sent the postcards to 200,000 people across the country who had previously lost money through phony sweepstake offers. The stunt was intended to draw attention to the problem with so-called postcard scams, which take in millions of dollars from unwary consumers each year.

Inspectors sent the cards to victims of previous postcard scams; apparently one in five hadn’t learned to avoid them. “What surprised us was the rapidity of the response,” spokeswoman Karen Luehrs said.

The postal inspectors set up a toll-free hot line for people seeking information on postcard scams: 800-654-8896.

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The check is in the mail: American Telephone & Telegraph Co. is mailing some of its former customers checks for up to $75 to persuade them to switch their long-distance service back to AT&T.;

Though long-distance competitors Sprint and MCI have offered consumers similar inducements in the past, AT&T;’s offer is the fattest yet. MCI said the most it has offered consumers is $20; it is not running a promotion currently. AT&T;’s promotion has been running in Southern California since March.

When consumers endorse the check, they agree to take AT&T;’s long-distance service. They also agree to pay all charges related to switching their long-distance carrier. Pacific Bell charges $5.26 to make a switch. GTE charges $4.46.

How is the promotion working? AT&T; would not be specific. “We’re pleased with it, or we wouldn’t be doing it,” a spokesman said.

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Apartment rents: Three California cities are among the Top 10 most expensive places in the country to rent an apartment, according to relocation consultant Runzheimer International.

Within California, San Francisco led the pack with an average monthly rent of $777 for a three-room, one-bath apartment. The city ranked second in the nation, behind Honolulu’s average monthly cost of $1,040 for the same type of apartment.

Los Angeles ranked sixth in the nation with an average monthly rent of $660. San Diego ranked 10th at $570.

The rankings are based on the cost of apartments in neighborhoods where single people earning $25,000 tend to reside. The figures do not include utility costs.

The cheapest place in the country to rent an apartment is Corbin, Ky. Monthly cost: $205.

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Odds and ends: Thousands of sharp-eyed consumers are enjoying one-way fares to Los Angeles from Boston this summer for $48 thanks to a typographical error in a Continental Airlines ad appearing in Boston papers. The ad should have said the fare was $148 one way. . . . Northwest Airlines is rewarding full-fare passengers by giving them dibs on aisle and window seats. The airline says “preferential seating” will be in effect on 70% of all flights by the end of the year. . . . The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse at the University of San Diego’s Center for Public Interest Law has launched a computer bulletin board service that provides information on privacy issues. To find out how to gain access to the bulletin board, call the clearinghouse hot line at 800-773-7748.