Clark has gotten a steady increase in calls from people who think they’ve won the lottery. This hoax is so bad right now that The Dallas Morning News has a story about the “Unlucky Seven” worst scams out there, and lotteries are – without a doubt – No. 1. Spain, Germany and Holland are just three of the countries that supposedly have lotteries. An 86-year-old woman featured in the story ended up giving more than $88,000 to these crooks. She was told upfront she needed to cover “administrative costs.” Then, each time, it was something more. She never recovered her money, and the crooks were never caught. When you get these e-mails, you want to believe they are real. They certainly look it. But if they ask for money – even a little – to get you your money, it’s a scam. Throw the paperwork in the trash. The second biggest scam is home repairs. These people get upfront money and then do shoddy work or no work at all in some cases. Work-at-home scams are in position No. 3, and phony charities are No. 4. These scams often affect seniors more than others, but everyone is at risk. Fraudulent “living trusts” come in at No. 5. You need a living trust in only a few circumstances, so most of the people are just trying to sell you insurance products. No. 6 is e-mail phishing scams. And, No. 7 is probably the ugliest of the “Unlucky Seven.” It’s when you’ve already been scammed and a service offers to help you recover your money. The very same people who took your money the first time are the ones behind this, and you give them more trying to get it back.