I received one of these letters today. Said I had won some lottery and have won 65,000. My check isnt listed from anyone, but the bank is Bethpage Federal Credit Union. Ive looked the bank up, they do exist. I think I am going to call this bank in NY in the morning and match the account and routing numbers to see if this is a valid account as the check looks very real with watermarks and such. Perhaps I could settle for the 3850.00 they have given me and they can keep the remainder of my 65,000 winnings that I wont be paying the taxes on!!
I got a similar letter from Uxbridge Security Services, 500 Park Ave., New York, NY 10035 (but the envelope had a $1 Canadian stamp...very suspicious). I would bet my life that this is a scam. For one thing, I googled "Uxbridge Security Services" and nothing popped up. Furthermore, according to Google Maps, 500 Park Avenue has a zip code of 10022, not 10035. The phone number they listed had a 647 area code, which is only in Canada. The payer was listed as Real Mex Restaurants, which I've never been to. I also googled "2010 Customer's Compensation Lottery Draw" and found that it has been reported by other people as a scam. No lottery is going to mail you a check to cover the taxes, and then ask you to call them for the rest of the prize. Also, the letter I got said that they had made many unsuccessful attempts to contact me. That's bull. That was the first letter I'd ever gotten from them. I'll probably report this scam to the FTC; however, if it truly originated in Canada, I'm not sure how much the FTC can do about it.
My wife got a very similar letter, but from a "Maple Securities Systems", which does not exist. It came with a check from Real Mex Restaurants. The letter is obviously a scam, but the check seems very real... I don't get it.
This is a version of fake-check-for-Western-Union-money scam. The check they send you is fake but it takes a few days after depositing it to find out it's fake. The money you wire them via Western Union (Moneygram, etc.) is real and the wiring process only takes short hours. Typically what happens is the scammers will have your real money in hand before you ever find out their check is bad. You'll lose the money you send them and may be prosecuted for passing a bad check. You are effectively acting in the capacity of a bank for the scammer in cashing his (bad) check for him. It's a scam. Take the check to the police.
Today we received the $3600 check, the first of winning $65000 from Real Mex Restaurants. The phone number we are to respond to is also a 647, but 890-1311. Nothing for 2010 Customer's Compensation Lottery Draw on Google and nothing for the security company, Dayton Security Services, also in New York, NY at 400 7th Ave.The check looks unbelievably real. Our contact is a Mr. Steven McMillan at the above number - before "we attempt to use this check". We need further clarification and instructions to claim our winning.I'm sure it is a scam. Fun thinking it is real, though. We are going to check it out at the bank to see if the check is real.