I opened a blank envelope addressed to myself today. Inside was a letter from Alliance Financial Services Inc. and a check in the amount of $4, 875.00. The letter stated:
We have made several attempts to contact you regarding this winning. You are therefore entitled to the sum of $125, 000 US dollars. This is from the total prize money of $4 million US dollars that was shared and presented among the other 32 declared winners. Please note that all participants were selected through a random ballot system drawn from over 500, 000 names.
It stated a claim number and that I needed to contact Steve Collins at 416-731-3903 before cashing the check.
The letter also stated:
The purpose of this FIRST CHEQUE is for the payment of applicable GOVERNMENT TAXES on your big winnings.
The tax amount is USD $3675.00 to be paid by Moneygram directly to the tax agent.
I actually called "Steve Collins". He asked me for my claim number. I told him NST-0011. He then went on to say congratulations, I won $125, 000. I asked him how, and then he asked me if I went online and filled out any sweepstakes from Home Depot, Jc Penneys, Sears, or Lowes. I actually did, so I truly believed this guy, for a few minutes anyways. He was hard to understand, he talked with a strong Caribbean accent. I asked him what I needed to do next. I apologized for not understanding him, and asked him to repeat himself. He said "Deposit the check, and call me back, that is what I said" and then he hung up. I found it disturbing for someone to hang up in your face like that. I knew this had to be a scam. I looked it up online and sure enough found this website, with other stories similar.
The check looks exceptionally real. So be careful.
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