I was contacted one week ago today, 7/20, and told I had received a cashier's check for a large amount of money ($175,000). The person contacting me said she represented Campbell Law Firm in Florida. She told me that the check had passed its expiration date and therefore I must send $685.25 to reprocess the check. I told her I didn't have that kind of money and besides a legitimate contest prize did not ask for money. She said it was not a scam and the reason I had to pay was because the check had expired. She told me I had received the check in April but must have thrown it out (believe me if I had received a legitimate check I would have cashed it; I am destitute).
Idiot me borrowed against my car title and sent the money. Then I was told that the bank's escrow fund was closed because I had not cashed the check in time so now I had to contact a person at the Bank of America and arrange to pay $1295.in order for them to redraw the check and deposit it into my account. Meantime, my bank called me and asked me why my account was overdrawn and it seems that the money that the person who loaned me the money to use had closed his account and now I am overdrawn. Not only that, but I also owe the money on my car title that I borrowed. I am beating myself up over being so stupid.
I now have no money to eat for the rest of the month until lmy next Social Security check comes in and when it does, every penny will have to go to pay off the money I borrowed. The man who paid my credit card off said he was with the Bank of America and once I got the money together all I had to do was pay him back, and when I told him that his account had been closed and the money he had so blithely told me to use was from a closed account, he said, "no problem, I'll fix it." I will call you. This is supposedly a person with the Bank of America. I told him if he did not correct this mistake by Friday I would contact a lawyer, the people in management at Bank of America, the Federal Trade Commission, etc.
I am so angry I could spit nails. Why do these people prey on older citizens who have no income? I guess because they are the ones who are the easiest to convince, since they need the money so much. Earlier today, while I was waiting for the man to call me from Bank of America, ironically I received 4 calls from Jamaica saying I had won a Publisher's Clearing House prize of $2,500, 000. Thank God I am aware of how they pay their prizes and know a person is not asked for a shipping fee of $5,000. Thank you for letting me get this off my chest.
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