My husband received a letter in plain white envelope with no return address and a Canadian stamp on it. Upon reading the letter we were informed that he was being notified that he had won money from an international sweepstakes in London. It stated he was one of 20 winners splitting $87 million, his share being $250,000.00 USD. Neither of us remembered entering any such drawing. Immediately I got the feeling that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
The letter included a very official looking check from Chase Bank USA, N.A. For $5959.00. First I noticed the address for the company on the check was a PO box in Maitland, FL, but the letter stated the company was in Ontario Canada. Also the stamped signature on the check did not match any names stated in the letter.
The letter stated, in a confusing way because some words were missing, to use the check to pay the "applicable securities" which would be $2990. We would then receive the balance of the winnings afterward. It said the fee was payable through any Western Union, however Western Union was not capitalized. Several other titles were not capitalized in the letter which seemed strange as well for something that was supposed to be official.
There was a claim agent listed at the end (Randy Simmons LLB), but his direct line was the same as the company's phone number listed at the top. Under this was an illegible signature. Below this was the name Sarah Bradshaw with promotions director in parentheses behind it. Last but not least there was a paragraph in smaller print listing the names of companies like Microsoft, Sears, Lowes, & Homes Depot along with a bar code with numbers above it to try to make the letter appear legitimate.
I was very suspicious of this letter and told my husband I wanted to check it out. I didn't want to call the number because I had no idea what the charge might be for that call. I decided to look it up on the Internet. It took several tries and I was never able to find an exact match to the company that stated anything similar to the letter. I tried searching some of the names and found a Randy Simmons who was an officer shot in the line of duty and a Sara Bradshaw who is a promotions director, but in Australia!
I finally found consumer complaints and was thankful for others who had been sent similar letters and reported it. None had this same company, but many listed similar details in the letters. My intuition was correct, but now I'm not sure if I am supposed to report this to any authority. Some other reports said they contacted the banks or the police, but I am unsure if this is the correct thing to do. Do I just toss it in the trash where it belongs? I definitely WON'T be cashing the check, but I WILL be contacting all my friends and family to make sure they are all aware that letters like this exist. People who send these letters need to be punished.
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