This company sent my elderly mother a letter informing her that she had won US $250,000 in the "USA's biggest multi-state lottery game also called 'THE BIG GAME'". The letter stated that the Multi-State Lottery Association had contacted Concord Clearing House and requested its assistance in finding winners that had not claimed their prizes.
The letter included a very realistic-looking phony check in the amount of $4,825.00, as an advance on the prize money, "to help you pay taxes, insurance, handling and shipping fees", and instructed her to call the claims manager, a "Paul Robinson" at (306) 351-7152 as soon as possible to activate the check. My mom called three times, but there was no answer. She then deposited the check with her bank, which accepted it, only to contact her shortly after, placing a hold on her account until the matter could be cleared up. Fortunately, she did not attempt to draw on the funds and no further injury was done.
The envelope has a Canada postmark. Shortly after, she received similar letters and phony checks from various companies, all with Canada postmarks; however, she did not take any action on them. These letters are from Chapel Trust Financial, Inc.; HSBC Financial, Inc.; and Golden Rewards, Inc. The phony checks are all identical in appearance, except that they are for different amounts and purport to be drawn on different corporate accounts.
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