The letter informed the boy that he was entitled to the lottery winnings, which would be delivered by a special courier. But first, he had to pay taxes on the winnings. Enclosed in the letter was a check for $4,750, to assist in the payment of $2,975 in taxes.

Siemsen called the telephone listed on the letter for the "claim agent," and he was told to deposit the $4,750 check he received, then call back for further instructions.

But Siemsen said he had a few questions.

Siemsen informed the man at the other end of the line that he had performed a Google search on the routing number listed on the check and discovered the number is to a Bank of America branch in West Virginia. However, the check listed an Atlanta, Ga., address.

He asked the person if the check was legitimate.

Yes, he was assured.

Siemsen noted that he hadn't entered the Canadian lottery, and wondered how he had won. He was assured that he purchased something, and his name was entered in the lottery in that way.

Then, Siemsen asked why the Canadian Lottery couldn't just deduct the amount of his tax from his winnings, then send him the rest of the money.

Fair enough, the person answered. But that would take four to six months, and Siemsen would need to sign a power of attorney.

Siemsen was fine with that, but said he needed to have an address, to mail the power of attorney. Then, he asked for an address where he could pick up his check for the winnings, saying he wanted to have the Canadian Mounted Police meet him there to protect his winnings.

At that point, Siemsen said, the person at the other end of the line hung up.

The conversation lasted seven or eight minutes, he estimated.

Siemsen said he later searched the Internet for the address listed on the letter, and MapQuest indicated that the location didn't exist.

He did a Google search of the phone number, and an Internet site indicated that the number was associated with a lottery scam.

Siemsen assumes that had he deposited the $4,750 check, he would have been told to mail $2,975 of that to the "lottery headquarters." Later, he would learn that the $4,750 check was fraudulent.

Siemsen said it's a lesson to others who might receive similar letters. He said people should always check out any such unsolicited mail they receive. As he learned himself, a great deal of information is available on the Internet.