I recieved a letter, in a plain white envelope with no return address, from Allianz Mutual, in Burlington, ON (with an invalid zip code number), along with a very official looking check drawn aganist Citibank for $4964.55. The letter, from Sheila Harris (promotions director), spelled with no caps, informed me I was the winner of $250,000 in a UK sweepstakes sponsored by Intel, Microsoft, Wall-Mart, Sears, Home Depot and others.
The letter included instructions to forward $2975 via Western Union to cover the taxes for the winnings, and then, after sending the money, I could cash the check for $4964. And then, magically, I would recieve the winnings. Gee, $2975 is a very tiny percentage to cover taxes for $250,000 in winnings.
Amazingly, the letter inlcuded a phone number for Selyne Fitzgerald LL. B (claim agent) with directions to call for further instructions.
I looked up Allianz Mutual, but no matches to the address on the letter. I searched by the phone number, and learned it is a cell phone number in Toronto, not Burlington, ON. And it is a personal phone number and not a business phone.
This report is almost identical to others I've read on this site, with the variation of using other real company names with invalid addresses, such as Fidelity. But Sheila Harris (promotions director) seems to be consistent from one scam letter to the next.
Fortunately, by searching on Sheila Harris, I found this site. Thanks.
I was tempted to call the number, but decided there no need to also provide my phone number to this scammer.
I will be forwarding this letter down to our FTC office. I'm sure I'm just one of many who has received a letter like this.
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