This morning I received a letter in the mail with a check for $3,120.00. The letter stated that I had won $75,400.00. The company’s sponsors were said to be Publisher’s Clearing House, Readers Digest, and Online Games. The check was definitely real, and the letter looked convincing. Here is how I found out this letter was a scam:
First, you should always be suspicious when you get a letter like this and be vigilant about doing your homework. I immediately went to the BBB website and typed in the company’s name-Trusted Brands Alliance Financial Services. The address listed is P.O. Box 9000 St. Johns, US Virgin Island 00804. This address is also on the letter. The BBB had them listed as a non-member with no complaints to date. You should be aware that the file on this company was only opened in February of 07. That is only 4 months ago. So I cleared my search and did another one on the company that issued the check: American International South Insurance Company. Their address is listed as P.O. Box 1802, Alpharetta, GA 30222. They are not a member of the BBB and no complaints have been filed since the opening in August of 06. One red flag should be the P.O. Boxes!
Second, you should always check the letter itself over with a fine toothcomb. The first thing I noticed was that the paper was printed upside down. I know this because the person used a fancy paper with ivy leaves on it and at the top left hand corner is written Gartner Studios and it is upside down. Meaning it should be on the bottom right hand corner in order to be read properly. A Company that processes sweepstakes wouldn’t be using a sheet of paper you could buy at Staples. Next, the letter tells you to call a phone number so your claims agent can tell you what to do next. When you call the number it repeats the number back to you and then beeps. I guess for you to leave a message. A Company that is legit could afford a better answering message.
Third, when you can’t get the info you want from the BBB, do an Internet search. It will take 30 seconds and you will be surprised at what you can find out from the experience of others. I put the company name in quotes and did a Google Search. Bingo! This very scheme was reported to Scam Club. A woman tells how she followed the directions in the letter and got scammed out of $4,720.00. She describes that the claim agent told her to deposit the check and then write a check for a Michael Peri the next day. This was to cover the taxes and insurance. Then they would Fed Ex her the remaining $70,000 prize money. She did exactly as he said since the check cleared. Well after she didn’t receive her money she got a call from the bank that the check she had deposited was returned for alteration. Now she was stuck paying the $4,720.
Fourth, check out the sponsor’s. Everyone has heard of Publisher’s Clearing House, Readers Digest, and Online Games. That may make you want to trust the letter. However, if you are smart enough to call the sponsor directly (like Art from Brooklyn did) and inquire about this letter, you would find out that Publisher’s Clearing House does not engage with third parties to award prize money to the public. Any money less than $10,000 is awarded by registered mail and they do not preceded their awards with letters telling people they have won money.
There were more clues that this was a scam such as no return mailing address on the envelope and a stamp from Canada when the company is supposedly from the Virgin Islands. My point is you must fully do your research before proceeding and ending up losing all of your hard-earned money! If you get this letter you can report it to the FBI or send the letter directly to Publisher’s Clearing House, c/o Director of Consumer Affairs, 382 Channel Drive, NY, NY 11050.
