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Sweepstakes Scam Email:
Publishing Clearing House or Publisher's Clearinghouse
Have you received an a letter with a check in it, said to be
from "Publishing Clearing House" or "Publisher's Clearinghouse" telling you
won, and to
call a number to collect your winnings? It is a
scam. This is not how the real, legitimate Publisher's Clearinghouse operates. No legitimate, legal
sweepstakes mails a partial check to a winner*! The scammers are simply
pretending to be from Publisher's Clearinghouse! This scam has existed in the
past but it started a resurgence again in December 2008.
This the common fake check scam: The check is a fake. You
will be asked to deposit the check and immediately send some of the money to
them via Western Union moneygram. By the time your bank notifies you that
the check bounced (could be weeks later), the scammers will disappear with the
western union money and you will be stuck with the bill and possible criminal
charges (passing bad checks, fraud, etc.). There is
a news story about this scam in Reuter's.
Although the most important clue is that no legitimate
lottery will ever email a winner nor send a partial check to "cover fees", there are many other signs that this is a fraud.
We have
highlighted some of these in the email below, not the least
of which are:
-
Require the winner to pay - U.S. federal law
prohibits sweepstakes from charging you for anything, not "delivery",
couriers, taxes, fees, handling charges, or anything else!
-
Email address ballot: There is no such thing as a
"computer ballot system" or "computer email draw". No one, not even
Microsoft has a database of email addresses of the type or magnitude they
suggest.
-
Terrible spelling, punctuation, syntax and grammar - Scammers
apparently don't know how to use spell checkers. We assume they
dropped out of school before that class. They use almost excessive and random CapItaLiZAtion.
They often can't even spell "February" or know that "22th" ought to
be "22nd". These scammers usually write at the 3rd grade level.
Being non-native English speakers, they also often get first names and
surnames (last names reversed), so you will frequently see names like "Mr.
SMITH JAMES.", instead of "Mr. James Smith", along with the peculiar usage
of periods (full stops) and spaces or the lack thereof. Real lotteries also proofread their emails
and look and read more professional.
-
Using free email account: The scammer is writing to
you from a FREE email account (Yahoo, Hotmail, Excite, AIM, Gmail, etc.). Don't you think a real organization
would use its own email, its own domain and website?
-
Keep Confidential - Real sweepstakes and lotteries THRIVE on
publicity - they don't want you to keep anything secret - the publicity
causes people to enter or buy more of their products. The scammer
want you to keep quiet because they don't want the police or ConsumerFraudreporting to hear about them!
It should read: "For our own security, you are advised to keep your winning
information confidential until we have finished scamming you!"
Here is a typical scam sweepstakes winning notification.
Examples of the scam, sent to CFR:
Scam report 1, December 3, 2008
I received the following letter in the mail accompanied
by a check for $4,577.93. I tried to call the number late in the afternoon and
got a message saying the phone was unavailable at present, so I looked up the
phone number at
www.800notes.com and found others had been reporting this number in the same
scam I received. Apparantly the scam works by getting you to deposit the check
into your account, and when it bounces you are charged some kind of fee from the
bank the check is written from.
Pares Financials
_________________________________________________
A Division of Pares, llc 647
stewart suite 633 seattle, WA 94532
Date; November 25th
2008 Tel; 1-647-878-3791
Ref#; SWF/888/WD
We are pleased to inform you through this letter that
our network shows you as the lucky winner of unclaimed price mone in the amount
of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00). The system indicates that your
name was randomly selected through a computerized ballot as a winner for the
FOURTH QUARTER of 2008 Sweepstake draw. <b> Congratulations!!!</b>
All participants were selected through a computerized
ballot system, drawn from Readers Digest, Publishers Clearing House, Online
Sweepstakes, Internet Games and ect...
We enclosed a check for ($4,577.93) which covers the
3.8% Government Taxes on your winnings. For authorization and activation of
this check, please contact your agent Joanna Marcus/Sean Peter immediately at
Tel; 1-647 878-3791. Your winnings must be claimed not later than December,
13th 2008.
Your name is attached to the claim Number
US/CA/ZDS20-00G. We advise that you keep your claim number confidentially
secured until your claim is processed and Funds remitted to you, as this is part
of our security protocol.
Please, remember to quote your Reference Number in all
correspondence with us in other to avoid unnecessary delays.
<b>Congratulations</b> again from our staff and sponsers!
Jaun .O. Wane
Claim Specialist
Pares Financial
Scam report 2, December 12, 2008
I received a letter through the US mail post marked from
Canada, including a check from WRA Financials (Westminister Research
Associates), cut from Deutsche Bank Trust Company Delaware for $4,989.50 with a
letter explaining that the check was for the 3.8% government recommended tax on
my winnings of $100,000 as the Fourth Quarter 2008 sweepstakes draw from
Publisher's clearing house. It provided a phone number (416) 825-5312 to call
and when I called they asked me for the reference number of the letter and
proceeded to tell me that the check had been activated and that I needed to
deposit it and then call them back so that they could send the remaining $95,000
via certified mail. Knowing that this is a scam I contacted Westminister at
(212) 448-6050 to ask about the check. I was told that someone had taken their
company name and information and was using it in a scam. I am therefore
reporting this and would like to know how these people ended up with my
information. There is also no information on the web about this scam so I feel
it should be listed. I have the check and the letter and I have no intensions
of depositing this check.
Scam report 3, December 19, 2008
Today in the mail I received a check for $5 ,890.00 with
information to call a number at Publishing Clearing House, which I did and was
informed that amount was part of the one million dollars I had won. The person
responding to my call informed me that amount recd was part of the l million to
be delivered to my doorstep on Dec. 22. Before the call could be completed, the
line went into thunderous tones.
The check was drawn on Peoples Bank, of North Alabame,
Hanceville, Al. 35077
Is this check ligitimate?
* Re: emails of winnings. We know of only ONE exception in the world to this rule
- and if you bought a ticket from them, you would know it, and would used their
safegaurds.The real Publisher's Clearinghouse posted
this warning on their
own website:
PUBLISHERS CLEARING HOUSE
CONSUMER AFFAIRS ALERT BEWARE OF "FAKE CHECK" SCAMS
Updated: April 2008
Publishers Clearing House wants to warn you about scam
artists sending out real looking checks in an attempt to get you to send
money! Here’s how the “Fake Check” scam works. Scam artists send you an
official looking letter claiming to be from a legitimate sweepstakes. The
letter may illegally use the name of a well known company like Publishers
Clearing House or a sound alike name in an attempt to build trust. The
letter encloses a real looking check that may appear legitimate. Even your
bank may be fooled.
What’s the catch? Even though the check is
bogus, if you deposit the check the money may be available to you for a
short time. Under federal law, banks make the funds you deposit available
quickly – usually within one to five days, depending on the type of check.
But just because you can withdraw the money doesn’t mean the check is good.
It can take weeks for the forgery to be discovered and the check to bounce.
And that’s what the scam artists are counting on. They hope that if you
believe the check is real you’ll be willing to send them money back.
The scammers may tell you that you were given an advance
on a sweepstakes prize and that some fee, tax or additional payment is
necessary. You may be told you are being paid the first installment on
millions and that you will receive more after wiring a portion back.
Whatever the set-up, the results are the same. If you send money back
you’ll be out twice. YOU are responsible for checks or monies deposited
into your account. When a check or money order bounces YOU will owe the
bank the money you withdrew and the scammer will have the additional money
sent in his/her pocket!
A legitimate sweepstakes will NEVER ask you to send
money to enter a sweepstakes, claim a prize, or to pay a fee, tax or
deposit. If you are asked to send money to claim a sweepstakes prize for any
reason you are being scammed. There is no legitimate reason for someone who
is giving you money to ask you to wire money back.
If you believe you are the victim of a “Fake Check
Scam” using the Publishers Clearing House name or logo, please contact us
immediately by calling our toll free number at 1-800-645-9242. Consumers
are also advised to contact the National Fraud Center at
www.fraud.org.
Names of Scam / Fake / Fraud Lottery
Click here for the huge list of the names of the currently identified lottery
scams companies
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