My roommate received an unsolicited check in the mail today in the amount of $4,750.34 drawn on a supposed Komatsu Forklift USA account with Union Bank in Gardena, CA. Letter accompanied it from Veridian Trust Inc. ("vti... Serving the globe since 1960"... Should be "scamming the globe since 1960").
This letter came in a plain white window envelope with a Canadian stamp affixed to it... Not metered like a real business letter would be. There was no return address.
This letter said my friend had been awarded a home improvement grant (we rent) in the amount of $41,000 that's been deposited into an escrow account pending claim finalization. It says, among alot of BS, that candidates were randomly selected from Reader's Digest, Publishers' Clearing House, etc. We don't subscribe to any of those, of course.in order to activate our account we need to call 289-892-3521 before cashing the check and ask for Charles Hamilton or Joann Hensley. We can also ask how to qualify for additional grants to suit our home improvement needs! How nice! This garbage goes on to state that $36,249.66 has been disbursed to him as a final cash settlement and it will remain in their custody pending approval and final processing, once the necessary fees and applicable Foreign Access Taxes are paid (this nice check they sent pays for some of that). Once these fees are paid (by sending them $3,150 via Western Union) (gee - we can keep the balance since the check they sent was for $4750.34!), they will then send the remainder - $36,249.66. Or we can even not accept the check and just send them $3150.00 and get the entire $41,000!
The phone number listed above is a cell phone in Canada according to posts on scam.com.
On the back of the letter it states in big bold type: "IMPORTANT NOTICE: This Grant is a prize you won. It is not a loan and does not require repayment. This notification letter is very confidential and must be kept at home at all times. If lost or stolen, you must report or call the issuing company within 24 hours. Also, you do not have to own a home to qualify for this Grant."
This is a SCAM with a different company name, different check amount, etc. I couldn't find anything on scambusters, Google, Yahoo search, etc. About Veridian Trust. However, scam.com did have a similar scam with the exact same phone numbers, scheme, etc.
Of course the check is BOGUS. You can certainly cash it - at your bank, a check-cashing agency, etc. But once the banking institutions find out that it's really trash, they come after you. Go to scam.com and read a few very sad stories about people taken in by this. These people are evidently the same types as the Nigerian scams... Some of the victims scammed by these people tell of speaking with individuals with very thick accents who get very nasty once you catch on to them and don't want to cooperate.
Remember - if it's too good to be true, then it's NOT! Don't be a Sucker!!
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