I received a letterand check for $4875 indicating I had won $125K. I believed this to be true and called the number listed on the letter, speaking to a Mr. Bryan McDonald.
He told me to deposit the check then call him immediately when I did. Instead, I called the bank the check was drawn on - First National Bank in Olney, Ingraham, IL - and was told the check was a fraud, they've received other reports of such checks and they are following their "normal steps" to get to the bottom of this.
I then called back Mr. McDonald and played along, trying to get some more information that I thought might be helpful in any ongoing investigation into these scammers. I told him I deposited the check and asked him what I should do next.
He told me I needed to Western Union the tax amount due of $2, 875, that I should call him immediately when I did so and that I should include my phone number on the Western Union slip so they could contact me to arrange for my winning balance of $121, 125 to be sent to me by UPS, and in case there were any problems. He also asked me for my phone number and I gave him a fake one.
He instructed me to Western Union the money to: Mr. Jimmy Brydon, 677 Arrow Road, Toronto, CANADA M7P-5B6. Didn't know if this person/address could be tracked down and be helpful in the investigation.
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