My father received an "official-looking" letter from Publishers Clearing House claiming that he won $1, 000, 000 as the 2nd place winner of the $7, 000, 000 Grand Prize Draw sponsored by Reader's Digest Magazine. The envelope was unmarked, had no return address and was postmarked in Canada using a Canadian stamp.
Enclosed in the letter was a check for $5, 890.00 which "is a certified check to cover any outstanding fees that has not been paid by PCH directly".
The actual check was a company check by the name of Cultured Marble CO and was drawn on Norwest Bank Texas. I google-mapped the address of the company on the check and the bank's address, and both turned out to be abandoned lots when using Google's street-view.
In addition, the letter stated, "Please contact Mr. Justin Folds at an (877) toll-free number. A security code was also included.
The letter closes by stating that "It is obligated by U.S. Federal law that your Security code and Prize information are kept highly confidential for safety and security reasons. The Internal Revenue agent handling your file is Mr. Henry Cohen. Congratulations again, Albert Garners, Chief Financial Officer."
This M.O. of this scam appears to be similar to the other reports filed in connection with Publishers Clearing House.
Especially during these tough economic times, it is even more critical that people are careful when receiving these letters and scrutinize the facts.
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