I received a letter in the mail along with a check for $2,970. The subject of the letter was Award Claim Final Notification. The letter said that I was "the lucky winner of unclaimed prize money" in the amount of $52,970.000. It said that I won the prize in "the third category draw."
It went on to say that all participants were selected through a computerized ballot system drawn from reader's digest, publisher's clearing house, mailing addresses, computer games and sweepstakes with data base from United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, North and South America, South Africa and Asia as apart of their International Promotions Program which is concluded annually.
The letter said that before they released funds to me I had to pay a processing fee $2,570.00. It advised me to keep my Reference number confidential until my claim was competed. It also said, "Your funds are now deposited with us and insured in your name. You shall be advised by your claims agent on how the processing fee will be sent. The balance of $50,000.00 will be sent to you via a courier or money transfer institution of your choice after your payment is confirmed. Your payment is GUARANTEED to be delivered 24 hours after you pay your processing fee depending on your city and state."
It gave a phone number of the claims agents at 1-204-951-0462. It gave the hours to call.
So I called the phone number. The man put me on hold and there was some loud beeps and a man answered. He had a strong accent and it was hard to understand him at times. He told me to go to the bank, deposit the check and once I did so to call back. He even asked how long it would take to deposit the check. I went to the bank deposited the check and when I got home I called the number back. This time I talked to a Frank Foster (supposevely) and he told me that now I need to send the $2,570 via Western Union to Joyce White 800 Franklin Ave. London, UK NW2 4V1. He told me to call him, Frank Foster, back after I have sent the money so that he can have my $50,000.00 sent to me via FedEx.
A couple hours later I played it back in my head and it didn't seem right to me. I went on Whitepages.com to do a reverse phone look up of the phone number. It said that the phone number was unpublished or unavailable, but it did say the Type: Land Line, Provider: Fido Solutions and the Location: Location: Winnipeg, Mb, MB.
I searched online for Payment Trust Services and I couldn't find anything. I even tried to search for the address he gave me and I couldn't find any information on the address either. I finally came across this website (ripoffreport.com) typed in Payment Trust Services and found what I suspected. Other people got the same letter or similar and it is a scam.
Now I need to contact my bank and cancel the check that I deposited. Luckily I didn't send them the money because I would of been out of $2,570 plus how much it would of cost to send the money. I felt so dumb for believing it at first, but people that scam people out of there money are really messed up! I feel bad for the people that get scammed by these people. I almost did.
Millaorchidpixie7
Lakeside, California
U.S.A.