Friday, September 24th
I Received an envelope post-marked in Seattle WA with a return address of Station Square PO Box 605 Bronx NY 10546.inside was a check drawn on PNC Bank in (no city) New Jersey 08079. The company name in the upper left-hand corner is in Washington, DC 20076 - G.E.I. Company, Geico Direct.
1) First tip-off that this is a rip-off is multiple address, none of which are found in online searches.
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The check is made out to me at my address in the amount of $4,970.00. Across the bottom is the check number and what looks like routing and account numbers. It has a watermark, is void after 180 days, contains fluorescent fibers, microprint and a padlock design - all security features.
2) Second tip-off that this is a rip-off is that it looks completely legitimate. Except the signature is obviously scanned and printed on bad equipment, as it is highly pixelated and unreadable.
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The letter enclosed has a pegasus logo and says Reader's Digest. It's good enough to make me think it's from the monthly magazine publisher. It says they held a sweepstakes drawing and my entry was 1 of 3 that qualified to receive $160,000. It gave a claim code.
3) Third tip-off that this is a rip-off is that I never entered a sweepstakes.
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The letter said to contact my representative "Michael Washington" to process my claim and activate my check as soon as I receive the letter to avoid any delays and "forfeiting of unclaimed prize funds". It says the check is to aid me for the insurance payment of my winnings.
4) Fourth tip-off that this is a rip-off is that if it's my money they would give it to me. They wouldn't tell me what to use it on. Also, the word "aid" indicates that the "insurance" on my winnings will me more than the check amount.
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The last line of the letter says "Please be advised all recipient information is confidential and collection of any personal or bank information are prohibited by our privacy policy."
5) Fifth tip-off that this is a rip-off is something I heard from Oprah once - all liars tell on themselves eventually if you listen long enough. Anyone who has any doubt about this letter and makes it to the last line should be certain by now that this is a scam. They mean exactly they opposite of what they just said.
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At the bottom of the letter are valid logos of Macy's, Zellers, The Home Depot, Target, Sears and Kmart, Walmart and &Better Business Bureau.
6) Sixth tip-off that this is a rip-off is that they should be able to stand alone. And showing other logos is to make you assume that they are afilliated without actually saying so. And - bak to the check - the Geico logo in the top left-hand corner is not that of the authentic Geico insurance company.
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Knowing that this is a scam, I will proceed as though it could be real and update the developments here as I go forward...
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