Its a scam. They will talk you into giving them money to pay the taxes on the winnings. Then some how, some way, they'll find a way to get the "winnings" back, too. If it was real they would take the taxes out of the winnings before they sent them to you.
DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY MONEY. If you have deposited their check be prepared to return the money to your bank along with a bounced check fee.
They use a courier service to avoid using the US Post Office. Sending scam materials through the post office is another crime, one with serious penalties.
I GOT A CALL SAYING I WON 450,000.00 AND NEEDED TO PAY 560.00 TO A COURIER TO GET THAT CHECK. I WAS TOLD TO GO TO WWW.411.COM AND GO TO LOTTERY INFORMATION. I WAS GIVING THE NAME JOHN WALTERS, THIS WAS THE PERSON I SPOKE WITH. HE SAID THAT I WAS ABLE TO GET FINANCIAL AIDE TO COVER DELIVERY CHARGES, AND ALL MY TAXES ON THE CHECK HAS BEEN PAID FOR. HE NEVER ASK ME FOR MY BANK INFORMATION @ ALL. HE JUST SAID, ONCE I PAY THE 560.00 THE CHECK WILL COME THE NEXT DAY.I NEVER GOT ANYTHING IN THE MAIL OR AN EMAIL ABOUT WINNING ANYTHING.YET, I DID ENTER INTO MANY CASH CONTESTS ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND NEVER HEARD ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT THEM. MY HEART SAYS SCAM, BUT I DON'T KNOW. I STILL HAVEN'T PLACE ANY MONEY IN THE HANDS OF THESE PEOPLE. MY HUSBAND ASKED HIM HOW LONG UNTIL I HAVE UNTIL THE CHECK WAS SENT BACK TO THE COMPANY, AND HE STATED IT HAS BEEN WITH THEM FOR 30 DAYS ( AND I'M JUST FINDING OUT ABOUT IT) AND WILL BE RETURNED IN 60 DAYS. HE MADE IT CLEAR THAT IT WASN'T A SCAM (SO HE SAID) AND MY HUSBAND STATED THAT THAT COURIER, YOUR FRIENDS OR WHOMEVER BETTER BE READY IF THAT CHECK IS NOT REAL!!! HE STATED THAT WE CAN SEARCH THEM AND SEE FOR OURSELVES THAT THIS IS A REAL COMPANY AND ALL WINNINGS ARE REAL.THE COURIER SERVICE HAS A SCALE THAT THEY GO BY TO FIGURE OUT ALL DELIVERY COST. IS THIS TRUE? I DON'T HAVE A CLUE. ON TOP OF THAT IT COMES UP UNKNOWN CALLER ON MY PHONE WITH THE NUMBER. WE CALLED BACK AND AN ANSWERING SERVICE ANSWERED. CALLED AGAIN AND LEFT A MESSAGE AND HE DID RETURN MY CALL.
Its a scam. They will talk you into giving them money to pay the taxes on the winnings. Then some how, some way, they'll find a way to get the "winnings" back, too. If it was real they would take the taxes out of the winnings before they sent them to you.
DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY MONEY. If you have deposited their check be prepared to return the money to your bank along with a bounced check fee.
They use a courier service to avoid using the US Post Office. Sending scam materials through the post office is another crime, one with serious penalties.