The Federal Trade Commission, a United States public agency that protects consumers from fraud, is returning money to New Zealanders who were defrauded by an illegal sweepstakes and prize promotion scheme.
New Zealanders who lost money will receive a letter in the post with instructions on how to activate a PayPal account to receive the refund. The letter will be from Rust Consulting, Inc., a refund administrator, and will inform the recipient of the amount of the refund and how to access it.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued the operators of Next-Gen Sweepstakes in a U.S. court for sending tens of millions of deceptive personalised mailers to people in New Zealand and around the world. The mailers falsely told people that they had won or were likely to win a substantial prize, as much as U.S. $2 million, in exchange for a fee ranging from U.S. $9.00 to $139.99. Many people, including senior citizens, responded to multiple deceptive mailers, paying the fees several times. The case information and specific information about the refund program is available on the FTC’s website.
If you need help with your refund, you can call the FTC’s refund administrator for information in English on 001 612 509 2644. You may also send an email to admin@nextgenrefund.com.
To report complaints about lotteries, sweepstakes or prize scams in New Zealand, please make a complaint via our online form. To report an international scam, go to econsumer.gov's website.
econsumer.gov is a project of more than 40 agencies around the world. Your complaint helps authorities spot trends and combat fraud. The New Zealand Ministry of Consumer Affairs is a member of econsumer.gov.
