I received a letter in my mail on July 17, 2008 from a company named Imperial Platinum Inc. saying that I had been selected among 20 other winners of a shoppers sweepstakes held on June 5, 2008 and that the total prize I was being awarded was $250, 000. A check was enclosed, made out to me and drawn on Commerce Bank whose address was listed on the check as 15305 E. Colfax Avenue, Aurora, CO 80011-5987. I was given a claim # and a contact name of Bob Morris who the letter said could be reached at 1-647-219-4892. The letter stated that $2985 of the enclosed check was for an amount that had been deducted from my "winnings" to cover applicable taxes. The letter stated "do not attempt to use this check until you call & asked that contact be made within 5 business days. So I made the call to see if there was any legitimacy to this claim. My first mistake was contacting Bob Morris instead of looking up the phone # for Commerce Bank in Aurora, CO & talking to someone @ the bank to try and verify. The scam is they ask you to deposit the check & then let them know after the deposit has been made. They then instruct you to go to the closest Western Union or Money Gram facilitator and send the $2985 for paying the taxes (and it must be in cash because W.Union nor MoneyGram will accept a personal check or credit card) so that they can then finalize getting the remainder of your winnings to you via Federal Express by the next day. You're also responsible for the wire fee which can range anywhere from $59 to $126. They ask you to call them after Moneygram transaction is complete because they need the reference # as proof that taxes are paid, clearing them to then release the remainder of the winnings - which was to be delivered by Fed Ex the following day @ 10 a.m.
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