I received a letter in the mail today with a check for $3,859.42. The letter stated that I won $129,000.00 & that the check was to take care of the taxes on my winnings. It also stated that I was to call my claims agent, "Josh Mathias" before I acted on the letter. So I called, (778) 858-1636, "Josh" answered, "Hello, this is Josh" (with a terrible accent). I told him I received a letter with a claim #, he asked me to hold on because he was on the other line with another customer. He set the phone down & was talking to someone on another phone. While he was talking, another phone rang. He answered it the same way & asked that caller to hold. Three minutes later "Josh" returns to my call & tells me that I received the letter because I was chosen to be the winner for $129,000.00 only because I shop at Walmart, Kmart, Walgreens, etc., in my area. (I could hardly understand him) He did not ask for the claim # or my name. He said that I must take the check to my bank & deposit it in my checking account. Once I do this I am to call him back & then he will explain how & when I will receive my winnings. After hanging up with him I searched consumer complaints & found that a similar company had a similar scam. So I decided to call "Josh" back. This time he answered "Micro Financial", "Josh" speaking. I tried to act like it was my first time calling but he told me that I just called him. So I played it off & acted like I didn't understand his instructions & that I misunderstood him about depositing the money. I asked him, "what can I do if I don't have a bank account?" "Would I be able to open an account with the check?" He stated "Oh, no, no, they will hold the check for a few weeks or even a month or so & this promotion only last 1 week from the date on the letter." (dated 3/25). So he suggested that I deposit it in a friend or family members account but to be sure that the bank account # is located on the back of the check. He says that there is no need to tell him the name of the bank. "That is not important." I acted excited & told him, okay I'll talk to you tomorrow. Another address on the letter is suspicious as well. P.O. Box 9857, Langley, BC V3T 9H2. Hopefully they catch this crook soon! Times are hard & that check sure would of came in handy right about now.
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