I received a letter in the mail a few days ago from Rainbow Financial Trust regarding a prize notification for 58,000 dollars. Enclosed in the letter was a check for $3,188.20. This check was supposed to be used in financing the international clearance fee so, I could receive my final prize of $58,000. I was instructed to call Ms. Julie Perkins upon receipt of my letter. I was skeptical about the letter, but the idea of the money outwayed my common sense.
I called Ms. Julie Perkins the next day. She was a well spoken, informative representative. I gave Ms. Perkins my claim number and she reinterated that I had been randomely selected through a computerized ballot system as a winner for the 2007 sweepstakes drawn from Readers Digest / Publishers Clearing House.
Ms. Perkins went on to expalin that the check for $3,188.20 was the complete cost (given by sweepstakes sponsors) to pay customs in order to release my prize. She informed me that any winnings over $10,000 had to be declared with customs. Ms. Perkins also explained that I had to deposit the check into my bank account so, additional verification could be made. She said that the bank would hold the check for 48hours, and once the check cleared I had to call her back for further instructions.
I asked her what was included in the further instructions. Ms. Perkins said that I would withdraw the funds from my bank account and go to a local processing center to pay the processing fee.
Once this was completed, the company would set up an appointment with me to surprise me with the winnings but, I didn't have to wait for my actual cash prize. I would receive by prize within 24hours once I paid the processing fee. Ms. Perkins said that I was tax exempt from the federal government, but I did have to pay state taxes. I would be required to fill out a state tax form. After taxes, I would receive 65% of my winnings.
I even tracked down the local bank the check for $3,188.20 was written from, which was in Santa Cruz, CA. I called customer service and pretended to be a merchant verifying funds. I was told the funds were available. I figured if nothing else, I could deposit the check and atleast have the $3,188.20.
Against my gut feeling, that is what I did. The bank returned the check, July 18, because the check was altered and I received a $10.00 return check fee. Today, I even called Ms. Perkins back and told her the bank said the check was altered. She said she would have accounting contact me as soon as possible. And, apologized for any inconvenience.
I am masters level college student. I can't believe I had a glimmer of hope that this prize money was legitimate. Thanks to this website, I realize I've been had! Looking at my prize notification letter, I am now seeing typos and incorrect sentence structures that should have red flagged my intuition and common sense. But, the promise of the prize winnings, the need for the money, and my inquisitive nature inhibited my judgement. Don't be fooled.
0 comments