Sweepstakes Bonanza Draw Notification SCAM.
They send you two cashiers checks with an actual bank's name telephone number and web address. In order to claim your prize you have to call a number for further instructions, clarification, and to deactivate the financial block on your inclosed winnings.
They tell you in order to claim your prize you have to purchase a surety bond certificate with the smaller ammounted check (mine was $640.49). I was told to cash that check at any check cashing place or bank if the place where I took it to cash had any questions to call the number on the check. Then I was to take $610.00 and purchase a money gram and send it to Jessica Albequrk in Ontario Canada.
After that was completed I was to call the woman back with my reference number and they would send me my seurty bond certificate the next day and I could take the larger check with the seurty bond to any bank to cash the large check (mine was $11, 659.51). When I took the first small check to a check cashing company they called the number on the check to verify the ammount. Thank heavens they have the brains to see the scam since I was blind sighted by my finiancial problems being solved. They explained to me that the check was fradulant and stamped void on the check copied it and gave me the copy.
They told me I could call and have a police report written but unfortunately could not do anything due to the fact that they were in Canada. So I called the woman back that instructed me what to do with the first check and where to send the money to. I explained to her that I was told that the check was fradulent. She asked me if I got the check back I told her no that they kept it. Her response to that was "well they will cash it behind your back and keep it for themselves". I explained to her that they stamped VOID on the check and gave me a copy and would send the check to their corporate office. She then told me that she would call the bank to find out what the problem was and call me back in twenty minutes. Surprisingly the woman never called me back. When I called her back she said that I would have to be transfered to her supervisor who was unavailable.
I went on the internet to look up the web address of the bank to my surprise the web site was legit. But the bank only had offices in the state of Texas and the address on the check was for Illinois. So I called the same number on the check that the woman at the check cashing place had called to verify the check. The number was no longer available.
I think this in horrible that people from other countries are doing this to Americans and that there is nothing we can do about it. It makes me sick that I was so close to being took by thier scam. I fill out entry forms to win things all the time. So when this came to me I thought well something has finally paid off. And the "prize money" would have gotten me out of the hole that I have fallen into since I have been laid off from work and my husband losing his job. I am so thankful this was caught before I was $12, 300.00 more in the hole than what I already am.
0 comments