Thanks Suzan for taking the time to investigate this. I too received the exact letter saying my winnings were $155,000 and the tax amount was $3,870.40, I too was suspicious so decided to check the Internet to see if there were any postings out there regarding this obvious scam.
These crooks need to be stopped and if we all band together and turn them in, maybe something can be done.
Received bogus check for $3750 US. Won $250,000 American family publishing sweepstakes. Letter head says Principal Financial Group. Letter is addressed to my wife. Contact name is Barbara Jones.
The only organization that has (or had) my wife's name listed the way it is on the letter (incorrectly) is none other than the Department of Homeland Security (Immigration). Since she does not have any credit cards, has never had any type of utility bill, has never worked, and has never used that name for ANY reason, it is logical to assume they got her name from Uncle Sam. That might be the reason the FBI (and others) "investigating" never seem to find the scammers.
If it had come addressed to me, I might never have thought that it was anything other than foreign scammers (like the ones from Jamaica who keep calling me.) But considering that the government is in bed with the banks in so many ways, it is not a stretch to imagine that the banks are using this method to pad their "losses" by refunding money to customers that have used their credit cards to pay for the fake fees. At the same time, the government is bailing out the banks to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars from the taxpayers.
Got a simular letter but for a winnings of 125,000.00 Check was from Wells Fargo for 998.00 Still researching and will be calling Wells Fargo to verify check.
I can't believe any of you are stupid enough to deposit these checks or even to have the smallest notion that they might be real. Must be cold living in a cave where you never hear about an obvious scam that is all over the news.
This is an old scam that is rearing its ugly head again. The letter is from Alliance Financial Group out of NY, (formerly Alliance Financial Services, etc). It indicates that they want to inform you that you are a winner of a sweepstakes. They enclose a check in the amount of $1,998 or whatever the amount, to help you pay the Government Service Tax. They want you to call Debra Jones at the above phone number to start your claim. Tax agent is listed as Mawatt Deval, (come on!) and oh by the way....after you deposit the check into your account, they want you to send the money to one of their representatives. So when you do send the money, FROM YOUR ACCOUNT, guess what...a couple of days later the bank notifies you that that check was from a closed account, and the check was counterfeit. Now you have to pay the bank back the money. DON'T FALL FOR THIS SCAM! First of all....if you don't remember entering the UNNAMED sweepstakes..then you DIDN'T. No one is going to give you money for free. Secondly, the banks no longer hold the checks that are deposited into your account. They automatically credit the amount to your account, to be more customer friendly. So don't think that just because your bank took the check that it is a valid check. If you didn't earn it, or enter the contest, it isn't real. Period. This type of crime needs to stop. Don't enable the criminals. By the way....."mmmm" you are going to be one of those people who will send the money and then want the police to do something about it. GOOD LUCK! Deposting that check was not only the WRONGg thing to do, but you just deposited a counterfeit check. mmmmmm........think about it. If you didn't participate in this UNNAMED sweepstakes, then you didn't win free money buddy.
I CONCUR. I TOO RECEIVED A LETTER SAYING THAT I HAD WON A SWEEPSTAKES TO THE TUNE OF 125,000.00. THEY INCLUDED A CHECK FOR 1,998.00 ALSO. THE CHECK WAS FROM MASPETH SUPPLY CO LLC. OUT OF MASPETH NY AND THE BANK IS JPMORGAN CHASE BANK NEW YORK NY. THE COMPANY CLAIMING THAT I HAD WON WAS FROM ALLIANCE FINANCIAL GROUP A DIV OF PUBLISHERS CLEARING HOUSE. I DID CONTACT PUBLISHERS AND THE LADY I SPOKE TO TOOK DOWN ALL THE INFO. I ALSO EMAILED FRAUD ALERT AND TOLD THEM ALSO. IN THE LETTER THEY MENTIONED AMERICAN FAMILY PUBLISHING, READERS DIGEST, ENERGY AND TELEPHONE. I WILL BE CONTACTING THESE FOLKS ALSO.