Today I received an award letter which hints that I had won or could win $200,000 in a "sweepstakes". The letterhead stated that the company was "National Lottery Promotion 1105 Interstate Drive, Suite 312, Richfield, Oh, 44286". The address is a field. The closest match to the company name and address is the "National Interstate Insurance Company, 3250 Interstate Drive Richfield, OH 44286-9000." They have posted a warning about this scam here: http://www.nationalinterstate.com/
Along with the letter, I was sent a fraudulent check in the amount of $4,954.23. I was instructed to cash the check and use the money to "cover the insurance and administration fees" that I incurred as a result of winning the "grand prize" which "qualified me to receive the amount of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars." Further, my award letter said that "the check enclosed is provided to you by one of our sponsors" and at the bottom of the letter are the logos of Zellers, Kmart, Macy's, Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, Sears, and the BBB.
The return address on the check was "LivHOME, Inc. 2900 Weslayan Suite 350 Houston, TX 77027"."LivHOME, Inc." is an in-home service for seniors based out of Los Angeles, CA, and the Houston, TX address is for Chase Bank. The top of the check is printed "Bank of America". It is a very convincing counterfeit.
I was instructed to call my "Customer Care Representative JOHN SANCHEZ... For processing of claim and activation of the check... At 1-778-323-5962". That number automatically hung up on me. I then called the "Prize Award Administrator, ERIC MORALES at 1-778-323-6788".
Mr. "Morales" spoke with a thick Indian accent, not a Latino. He asked me to give the claim number, which I did, and to verify my name. I refused and said since he is awarding me this "grand prize" he should know my name. He then said if I didn't give him my name he would withdraw the prize. When I responded that I was concerned this was a scam he immediately hung up on me.
I called back to try to get more information about what this was really about — and what it would cost me — and he only wanted me to cash the check. When I kept pressing, he got angry and hung up again.
This is obviously a scam that is designed to prey upon the elderly and those who are already in financial hard times, and I find this to be one of the most loathsome ways to exist as a life form on this planet.
Because the BBB logo is at the bottom of the letter, I would hope authorities would take this scam seriously, help educate the public, investigate and prosecute to the full extent the law allows.
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