I got the same letter, stating I won a contest from Burger King. I decided to check this out as I often enter contests and then forget that I did. I went to my usual BK and spoke to the manager there. She had not heard about this but called her District Manager and he told her that it was legitimate.
Now that I see the previous responses I'm a little worried. I will contact the Corporate Headquarters for BK to check this out as well as BOA.
Oh, and the contact name was James Osgood, He said he was based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He didn't sound Canadian, more like he was somewhere in India.
I just looked at the letter again. Nova Scotia is mis-spelled as Novo Scotia. sheesh
Got a letter from them:
"FOX TRUST FINANCIAL
Notice Of Payment.
We are pleased to inform you that you are one of the winners of our annual Family well-being draw held on June 5th, 2009, under the auspices of GAMES/GAMING ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA. Your entree slip with the serial number attached to your name drew the lucky winning numbers xxxxxxxxxx.
You have therefore been approved to receive the sum of US $ 285,000 payable to you by cashier's check. Enclosed is a check of $4,970. This check was deducted from your winnings to assist you to pay the Non Resident Goverment Service Tax (GST) of Canada, since the final draw was held in Canada and you are not a Canadian resident. Your tax amount $4,930 UD Dollars, payable through your tax agent, assigned to your file, by money order.
Taxes must be paid in full before winnings can be released legally. All winnings must be claimed no later than 8 days upon the activation of your check, and will be delivered to you by NORTH WEST COURIER COMPANY.
You are advised to contact your claims agent Sharon McNeil at 1-262-320-4179 to give you detailed information on how to make this payment. Please, do not act on this notice until you speak to your agent. Congratulations!
CHECK: Southwest Gas Corporation
Bank Of America, Las Vegas, Nevada
We are pleased to inform you that you are one of the winners of our annual Family well-being draw held on June 5th, 2009, under the auspices of GAMES/GAMING ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA. Your entree slip with the serial number attached to your name drew the lucky winning numbers xxxxxxxxxx.
You have therefore been approved to receive the sum of US $ 285,000 payable to you by cashier's check. Enclosed is a check of $4,970. This check was deducted from your winnings to assist you to pay the Non Resident Goverment Service Tax (GST) of Canada, since the final draw was held in Canada and you are not a Canadian resident. Your tax amount $4,930 UD Dollars, payable through your tax agent, assigned to your file, by money order.
Taxes must be paid in full before winnings can be released legally. All winnings must be claimed no later than 8 days upon the activation of your check, and will be delivered to you by NORTH WEST COURIER COMPANY.
You are advised to contact your claims agent Sharon McNeil at 1-262-320-4179 to give you detailed information on how to make this payment. Please, do not act on this notice until you speak to your agent. Congratulations!
CHECK: Southwest Gas Corporation
Bank Of America, Las Vegas, Nevada
I received the same letter and yes i did reach someone only to find that the whole thing is a sick scam pulled through some Somalian pirate bull crap... I goog 1800 the number and got a hold of people with the southwest gas company..... they stated that they had received many calls and the fake checks were being investigated by the company.... after i had discovered this information i called the people that stated they were the claims adviser at 12623204179 and began to let the guy know what a worthless piece of life he is.... he then showed his true colors and began cursing at me stating he was going to trace my phone number and hunt me down... i laughed and told him that third world countries don't have indoor pluming let alone the ability to track my call... i left him speechless and completely dumbfounded he was studduring and trying to make things up lol..... stupid scammers hahaha
I did not receive a call; I received a letter that pretty much reads the same as the others; it included a check for $4,970.96 to use to pay the "mandatory Non Resident Government Service Tax (GST) of Canada, since the final draw was supposedly held in Canada. I called the above number and was told by someone calling himself James Osgood (he had an accent and did not sound like a James Osgood) to deposit the check and call him back when the funds have cleared; he said he thought it should take 24 hours. I took the check to my bank (it was drawn on a Bank of America account out of Miami) and made the deposit, asking them when the funds will clear. They told me it will take at least 5 business days. I called "Mr. Osgood" back and gave him that information, and he told me to call him back on Thursday of next week (this all happened today, Thursday, July 2, 2009). I will be calling my bank next week to find out if the funds are legitimate. If so, I'll keep the money but I doubt I'll be calling this person back. Why keep the money? Who would I send it back to? Besides, if the funds are legitimate, we can use them. It would be nice to have won the $285,000.00 the letter told me I won, but I'll take what I can get. Once the funds have cleared, I'll trnsfer them to my money market account, where I can use them to pay my property tax. If they don't clear, I'll ask my bank to begin an investigation.