I received a call at about 8:15pm tonight from an "unknown caller" as it appeared on my caller id. I picked up and a woman with and Indian accent claimed that I was qualified to receive an $8,000 grant from the Federal Government and that I could use it for anything I would like including business, pay off debt, etc. She continued to tell me that only 20,000 people across the U.S. Are qualified and I was one of them.
Of course, I started asking her questions. It seemed to good to be true. She was willing to listen and answer all my questions. I asked her what the catch was here. She said there wasn't one. That all I had to do was pay a refundable processing fee of $257.00. I asked her why I had to pay this fee. Her answer was that it covered the fees that I would normal have to pay if I was trying to get a grant from the government. I also had til Sept. 26th to pay this fee and I didn't have to pay it over the phone. She also said that I would be receiving a packet in the mail in the next week or so with all the paperwork that I would need to read over to make sure it was in fact not a scam. She then asked me for my checking account number off one of my checks.
There was NO way I was going to give out this information. So I continued to grill her. I told her that if in fact she was calling from the federal government, that they would have an alternative method for people to pay this processing fee. I explained that there are too many people concerned with identity theft and privacy these days that the F.G. Would NOT ask for this information over the phone. She continued to tell she understood where I was coming from and just needed it to send me to the Verification Dept. So I could get the access code for the rest of the process.
I told her that I wanted a # where I could reach someone first to verify that this was the Federal Government. She wouldn't give me the # at first, but then finally put me on hold and came back with an 800 #. She also gave me her name as Jessica Spencer and ID #.
I called the 800 # right as I got off the phone. It said I reached Customer Service (but didn't name a company) and said they were available 10am-7pm EST. I am so glad I continued to grill her and wasn't a victim of this scam. I knew right away that the $257 fee was part of the scam. And I am so glad I read these other ripoff stories about the same call. Don't get sucked into this! And tell all your friends!
Amy
Sacramento, California
U.S.A.
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