I fill out many online surveys and at the end of them, instead of getting paid, you enter an online sweepstakes. I have filled out so many it's hard to keep track of them all.
I received an email several days ago notifying me that I won 2.95 million dollars from a sweepstakes that I had entered. I immediately became suspicious with such a huge amount of money. Also, it's from Teampoker online. I never filled out any surveys for such a company. I played along for the first couple of emails listening to see what they had to say.
At first it all seems legit, they have what appears to be letterhead and they also emailed me a notice from The First National Bank stating that this sum of money has been reserved for me. Upon investigating the bank, I found that the address they had on the email was different then the address I found from the yellow pages located in Africa (via the internet). Also, they furnish you with a telefax number to call the bank, not a telephone number. I found the real number for the bank on the internet and called, however, for some reason, I keep getting the same message, that I cannot make the call to that country. I have also tried to call this Brian Lucas, who claims to be an attorney. I keep getting a message that says the call I am trying to make cannot be completed to that country at this time.
This Brian Lucas claims to be an attorney for a law firm called Bowman Law firm, claiming to be located in Free State South Africa. I have spent many hours researching many different African phone books and sites. I still have not found the business he claims to be an attorney for. When I sent him an email asking him why a law firm wouldn't be listed in a phone book the question was totally ignored. He keeps sending me emails which appear to be generic form letters, never answering my questions.
When asked about his website he emailed that the site is undergoing an upgrade, which (he says) is why I can't find any information on the law firm.
Also, I was asked to send $2500.00 via Western Union to someone named Godirano Modiamo. The $2500.00 was supposedly for court documents needed to release the money to me. But then why would they want the money sent in this Modiamo guy's name and not the law firm. Fishy indeed! Brian claims Modiamo is an attorney at another location. However, when I researched the alleged "other location" I, again, found no information at all under the name Bowman Law Firm. I have even emailed Brian Lucas asking him if this other location was also called Bowman Law Firm. He replied that it was, however, like I previously stated, I have yet to find even 1 company with that name.
Another thing that raised my suspicion was the fact that the letter - supposedly from a lawyer - had so many mis-spelled words. Also, every letter ended as Sincerely, Brian Lucas. No secretary initials at all under his name, no carbon copies or anything. I have worked in enough offices to know that a secretary types the letter for the boss and puts their intials under his/her name, and everyone involved should receive a copy of the email. If he was a true attorney, he would not have the time to write back to me himself. His secretary would be the one doing the actual corresponding. When they type/email letters for their boss it is necessary for them to put their initials under his/her name. And if he was indeed a real attorney then he would not have the time to argue back and forth with me via email for several days. There is just no way that is possible.
I got fed up with my questions not being answered and asked for a copy of his law degree.instead I was furnished with something called a "Certificate of Call to the Bar". Which isn't exactly a degree. He then further wrote in his letter, and I quote, mis-spelled words and all, "you have know right to question my integrity." He is sadly mistaken. With all of the fraud and identity theft going on in the world, I have every right to question his integrity. I seem to have made him upset. But I needed to make sure that this was a scam, so I am not bothered by upsetting him, or anyone else trying to scam me. I'm the one that should be upset.
I have not made the payment of $2500.00 and I will not. So I either made a terrible decision and gave up the opportunity to win $2.95 million dollars, or I made a wonderful decision not to spend $2500.00 of my hard earned money and get nothing in return.
If anyone else has gotten any emails from the companies I mentioned above, I would love to hear from you to make sure that I made the right decision.
I believe that if something seems to good to be true, then it usually is. My husband and I are hard working people. We live in a house that still needs some repairs due to a category 5 hurricane that we lived through. We struggle to pay our bills and live paycheck to paycheck. We are honest, hard working people just trying to get by in today's society. I'm proud to say that this guy did not get 1 cent of our hard earned money, and I hope he doesn't get anyone else's either!
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