I am in receipt of a yellow envelope which looks like a telegram, addressed to my sister-in-law, who is blind. The outside of the envelope is titled "Important Delivery Letter" with a respond-by date of 11/8/07. Certainly not urgent if the respond-by date is a couple of weeks away. The outside envelope also says "act to avoid prize entry forfeiture, with a big red X followed by the word "pending."
Upon opening this "urgent" looking envelope, it looks much like a telegram, addressing my sister-in-law by name and telling her their records indicate she is the recipient of prizeentry ID followed by a number. Sheis told if her entry is selected she will win $2,100, 000. She is told to call 1-888-790-4468 to activate her entry. It is signed Pat Haines. There is a suspicious "official seal" in the right upper corner saying "National Magazine Exchange", in the middle of the circle noting "official seal" with a date of Aug. 9, which is almost 3 years into the future. On the back is the fine print, which near the end states that the sweepstakes will be presented in conjunction with various promotions and with various partners, which indicates to me that if you call the number to activate your entry, you will likely be deluged with offers to buy magazines which, according to the posted rules, will not enhance your chances of winning any prize.
Logistical problems with this mailing:
1. If this is a legitimate sweepstakes, why not just directly enter the "winner" into the drawing instead of being forced to call a special number? Because the purpose of calling is to have an opportunity to be upsold.
2. The date of the sweepstakes drawing is "on or about 12/28." "About" is not defined.
3. A phone number is given at the very bottom on the back to opt-out from being contacted for future sweepstakes. It is a separate number from the sweepstakes number. One has to wonder if the caller will be deluged with offers there as well.
It should also be noted that on the same day we received this "telegram" my sister-in-law received a magazine which she could have never ordered, so it will be returned to the post office "refused." She cannot read print magazines, since she is blind, therefore none were ordered and if the company tries to contact her in the future, no payments will be made for same.
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