I received a call from a gentleman stating that he was with the federal government telling me that I was chosen to receive a government grant. The caller had a portion of my bank account number, my name, my address, and of course, my phone number. I was then given a confirmation number along with an 800 number to call back and provide the conrimation number. Everything worked out ok, so I believed the man to be legitimate.
I was told that $8,000.00 would be deposited to my account on the 13th of August, and then a $249.00 processing fee would be taken from my account. He went on to explain that I would receive a package in the mail within a few days of the deposit, verifying the transaction and containing some other forms that would need to be completed.
On Tuesday, August 17, I checked my bank account only to find that the money had not been deposited as promised, however, the processing fee of $249.00 had indeed been taken out. My bank has a copy of the check that was used to take the money from my account, and it doesn't even have my signature on it. I have filed a claim with my bank and with the attorney general of my state.
My bank is in the process of retrieving the funds, and they have fixed my account so that the company cannot take funds from my account again. All I can say to folks is NEVER give your information over the phone, no matter how legitimate it seems to be.
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