I received a phone call from a man with a heavy middle eastern accent claiming that I had been selected along with about 7-800 other people to receive a $5,000 government grant. (The call showed up on caller-id as out of area and the only numbers that appeared for the phone number were 118.) This guy proceeded to explain that a cash grant was money I didn't have to pay back and that I could do whatever I wanted with the money, except gambling. As long as I have not filed bankruptcy within the past 5 years, have not been convicted of a crime, was a US citizen and didn't owe the IRS anything. He said all he needed was my bank account number so they could deposit the money (immediate red flag for me) because it was too risky to send the money through the mail and I would need a witness with me at the bank to sign for the transfer.
When he paused to ask me if I accepted the offer, I began questioning him. I told him I had never heard of this before, why was he calling me, exactly how did I get selected and I just didn't trust anyone asking for my bank info that I had never had any contact with. He gave me a phone number to call to check out the company (1-866-384-8185) and said he would be calling me back and would then issue me a confirmation number after. Also, before we hung up, he said that if I accepted this grant I would be immediately enrolled in a life time travel discount program.
I hung up and called the phone number out of curiosity. I immediately got a voice mail message saying all operators were busy and to please leave my name and number with a confirmation code. I didn't bother leaving a message. This just all reaks of a rip off and scam. "If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is."
Miga
Small Town, Georgia
U.S.A.
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