I got a call from Washington DC saying I am to receive a $9,000 grant. In order to receive the grant, I had to purchase $200 in iPhone cards. Curious, I bought the iPhone cards and had to scratch the activation codes and read them to the caller. Successfully providing valid codes, she gave me a number to their tax office. They said in order to receive the grant, I have to pay federal taxes upfront in the amount of $685. I told her I could not pay this amount right now, but will call her back when I do. I'm curious as to where this goes. Also, I went to redeem one of my iTunes cards on the Apple Store, and it said gift card already redeemed??
Your post is ... um ... EXTREMELY difficult to believe, since the scams you described are quite well known.
However, if you did fall for the scam, you are now on a "we got a really gormless sucker" list. You should copy and print out the following, and keep it handy at all times. You WILL be exposed to more scams in the future!
Things to believe:
• "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."
• If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• You have not won big bucks from a benign benefactor, a pot of pesos from PCH, dinero from a doctor, a car from a caller, or a grant from a gracious government
• The tooth fairy really does not exist
• You have not won a contest that you never entered.
• Everything you read on the internet or hear on the phone is not necessarily true.
• It is illegal to ask for money for a loan or prize, before awarding the loan or prize!
• "Free Trips" are loaded with mandatory & costly extras, and you usually must give them your card number after listening to a loooong spiel at a hotel.
• Microsoft or a different famous software company, or one of their agents did NOT cold call you to fix your computer.
• The moon is not made of green cheese.
• The IRS will snailmail you, rather than phone you, if there is a problem.
• Jackalope milk is not an aphrodisiac.
• If you Vanilla Card, GreenDot, MoneyGram, Western Union, iTunes or use ANY gift/money/reload PIN-type card to send money to a scammer, the money is gone. In fact, as of June, 2016, it is ILLEGAL for telemarketers to ask for payment via these methods.
• You should beware of Geeks bearing gifts, specially if the gift is a wooden horse with termites, or a statement that your computer is infected.
• 876 is NOT your lucky number, and it will cost you money to call that area code!
• The number you see on your Caller ID may not be the number of the person who called you!
• The Do Not Call List works as intended. It is NOT a call blocker!
• If you fall for a scam, you will be put on a "sucker list", and will get many more scammy calls!
More information regarding those facts (and others) may be found at
http://phonehelp.2truth.com/facts.html
Remember to return here, to 800notes.com, after you look at any of the information at that site, either to post more information, or to let us know you avoided the scam.