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I got a letter in the mail telling me I had won $121,000 (US) dollars in a promotional sweepstakes a couple days ago.
Apparently, the company handling this is International Claims Department, according to their letterhead, they have an address of 200 Queen Street, Hamilton, Ontario L4C4M5
It explained the sweepstakes in terms so vague as to get an TL:DR reaction from most readers, then talked about the enclosed check to pay the taxes so they can send you the remainder of the winnings after the taxes are paid and they have been so notified.
The check was for $1000 more than they said taxes would be. There is no explanation as to why that is.
The check has a few oddities about it. For example, it is a check from Macy's, one of the companies they are saying they represent.
There is no phone number for the bank on the check, I believe that is required on US Checks.
The check is drawn on a South Carolina bank, 1st Federal FSB, which appears to be an on-line bank.
Oh it looks very much like a real check, the right type of paper, all the official markings, but huh, it just feels wrong.
Then I took a look at the envelope. A Canadian stamp was used, with a cancellation mark that says Fraud - Prevent it on the first line and La fraude - Prevenez-la! on the second line. I'm told very few companies opt to use stamps anymore, as the postage imprinting machines are very reasonable for a company with any type of regular outflow. The cancellation mark is humorous all things considered.
It got me to thinking. I avoided all the big chains last Xmas, did all my shopping at a couple of small independent stores, and I do not remember entering any sweepstakes, at all.
So, being a good Internet user, I typed in the phone number on the letter (1 905-598-6612) and up came several posts on boards proclaiming it to be a scam, don't cash the check, they get your bank info and clean out your account. That this has been an ongoing scam and they move and change names a lot but the scam remains the same.
Then I started thinking, in California we don't give people the money for taxes, we send it straight to the tax agency before the winner ever gets their hands on it, why aren't these people doing that as well?
Oh, they also seem to be counting on people not knowing how high the tax burden is on sweepstakes winnings. Less than 5k for a 120k pot? Come on now.
Happy happy, oh, no, I guess not. Well, better to come back to earth immediately than cash the check, lose all my money thinking I'm going to be 120k up.
So, anyone else get one of these scam letters?
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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin
"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones
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