(Original # that called me ( 202) 646-0007 . # I was told to call and give the " Money exceptance #" (253) 656- 6682.
Just received the same call, I was given a # and told to call "John Smith". I find it very hard to believe that the man I spoke to and could hardly understand, name is "John Smith". I was told to call him back after I reached the Western Union location provided by him. I was to wire 190.00 to cover the insurance of my grant. You see "if I had applied for the grant then the government would cover the insurance. Since I was just randomly selected I have to cover the insurance myself. "
I received a phone call saying I was randomly selected to received $8400 from the US government because I paid my taxes on time. I must admit I was hesitant at first. I just knew something was up. Then Michael tells me I need to send him $195 for fees. He then went on to explain, rather quickly I must add, that the money can't come come from the grant because it's not really from the gov't but from a private charity. Here I am thinking, if the money is from a private charity, why do I have to pay fees for it? The same would apply if it was actually grant money from the gov't. I know our gov't is not as rich as it once was, but I have never heard of anyone having to pay for their grant money. I felt very uncomfortable then I called the Better Business Bureau. I admit I could not understand all that was said to me so I could not give them a name to look up, all I had was the number. I was told to look up the number, and this is the site I was taken to.
I'm very angry because, for a split second, I thought of how I could catch up my bills with that money and put down a decent down payment for a new car. I think people like this are the lowest of the low. In this time when so many people are unemployed, losing their homes, and trying to find all kinds of ways to make money to provide for their families, false hope is the worst thing to do. Why can't these people just go out and get a job, a real job, instead of stealing from honest, hard-working people? I don't know where it is, but I heard there is a website people can go to and report scams such as this. Hopefully, if enough people report these scams, they can be found. If anyone knows how to get in touch with the FBI fraud and scam people, you should share the info.
Yes they will EMPTY you bank account - not put money into it..
THERE IS NO GRANT!
Although government grant scams have been around almost as long as the government itself, the majority of the sites being advertised today didn't exist before the November 2008 election.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION WEBSITE
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt134.shtm
‘Free Government Grants’: Don’t Take Them For Grant-ed
EXCERPTS - READ THE ENTIRE CONSUMER ALERT from FTC
Don’t give out your bank account information to anyone you don’t know. Scammers pressure people to divulge their bank account information so that they can steal the money in the account. Always keep your bank account information confidential. Don’t share it unless you are familiar with the company and know why the information is necessary.
Don’t pay any money for a “free” government grant. If you have to pay money to claim a “free” government grant, it isn’t really free. A real government agency won’t ask you to pay a processing fee for a grant that you have already been awarded — or to pay for a list of grant-making institutions. The names of agencies and foundations that award grants are available for free at any public library or on the Internet. The only official access point for all federal grant-making agencies is www.grants.gov.
Look-alikes aren’t the real thing. Just because the caller says he’s from the “Federal Grants Administration” doesn’t mean that he is. There is no such government agency. Take a moment to check the blue pages in your telephone directory to bear out your hunch — or not.
Phone numbers can deceive. Some con artists use Internet technology to disguise their area code in caller ID systems. Although it may look like they’re calling from Washington, DC, they could be calling from anywhere in the world.