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Allied Financial - M&I Marshall & Isley Bank Sweepstakes scam using valid-looking check for $4, 750

I received in the mail, a letter addressed to me with no return address. The cancel on the stamp came from Canada. Inside the plain, white business envelope was a letter that appeared to have been printed on a desktop ink jet printer. The only other enclosure was a check for $4, 750.

The letter was to inform me I was was a winner in an international sweepstakes drawn on May 20th 2008 in the UK. It used names of companies (foundation of software products, slidecircular awards) I never heard of and one (Heineken) I had heard of that were organizers of the sweepstakes.

The check was to cover the taxes on my winnings. The letter warned me to not use the check until I called the phone number at the top of the letter. I never attempted to contact a claims agent nor have I tried to use the check. The bank name is similar to a real bank, but I couldn't guarantee the veracity of the check nor its bank.