Standard Trust, Inc., De-Lotto North American Sweepstakes Lottery SCAM - Fraudulent check received per bank Toronto, Ontario

I received a letterand check for $4875 indicating I had won $125K. I believed this to be true and called the number listed on the letter, speaking to a Mr. Bryan McDonald.

He told me to deposit the check then call him immediately when I did. Instead, I called the bank the check was drawn on - First National Bank in Olney, Ingraham, IL - and was told the check was a fraud, they've received other reports of such checks and they are following their "normal steps" to get to the bottom of this.

I then called back Mr. McDonald and played along, trying to get some more information that I thought might be helpful in any ongoing investigation into these scammers. I told him I deposited the check and asked him what I should do next.

He told me I needed to Western Union the tax amount due of $2,875, that I should call him immediately when I did so and that I should include my phone number on the Western Union slip so they could contact me to arrange for my winning balance of $121,125 to be sent to me by UPS, and in case there were any problems. He also asked me for my phone number and I gave him a fake one.

He instructed me to Western Union the money to: Mr. Jimmy Brydon, 677 Arrow Road, Toronto, CANADA M7P-5B6. Didn't know if this person/address could be tracked down and be helpful in the investigation.

Karen
Groton, Connecticut
U.S.A.