Today I was contacted on my cell phone by man with a HEAVY accent stating his name was Tom Johnson and he was calling to inform me that I was awarded a 5,000 grant. He verified my name, address and asked for where I banked.
At this point I became uncomfortable and said that my cell phone reception was going bad and could not understand him. I asked him if he could just mail me the information so I can read it. He said he had to verify my bank information so the information could be mailed out.
I asked him how he got my phone number and other information. He said it was because I filed taxes and the government chooses random taxpayers for this grant, which doesn't have to be paid back. So I asked him for his name and phone number. He gave me 877-408-1401. I immediately tried calling on a land line and three different times, that number was not in service.
I continued to have problems understanding him because of his accent and asked to speak to a supervisor. When the supervisor came on, I told him the number that Tom gave me didn't work. He gave me 877-408-1400 and stated this was for customer service. He also continued to try and verify my information and get my bank account routing number. While he was talking, I tried that number and it rang continously then clicked off.
When I asked him if he was hearing the phone ring, he mumbled something also. (He also had a heavy accent and could not understand him very well either.) I told him my cell phone reception was not good and could he call back later in the day. He said he would call back in 5 minutes. He never did call.
I read a message from Tara and wanted to be sure to let others know about this, as well as the different numbers they are giving out. Additionally, on my cell phone, the caller ID was showing "unknown" which may be a new trick (blocking the call) they are using.
Good luck to everyone!
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