Complaint Review: Inter-State Financial Investment Services

I was sent a letter in the mail advising me of a Sweepstakes Lottery I had won from 2007. Enclosed with the letter was a Cashier's Check in the amount of $3500.00. What seems weird is that I found several similar cases on this site in which the letters are exactly the same, word for word execpt for the business name change. Here is the letter...

This is to inform you of the official release of the 2007 SWEEPSTAKES LOTTERY held on December 31st, 2007 in the 2nd category.
A ticket with serial number ** ***** attached to your name drew the lucky winning numbers -**-**-**-**-**. We have made many unsuccessful attempts to cntact you regarding this winning. You are entitled to the sum of $38,000.00 US dollars. This is from total prize money of $380,000.00 US dollars that was shared and presented among 10 declared winners. Please note that all the participants were selected through a random computer ballot system drawn from over 500,000 names.
Your claim number is : **/***-***** and in accordance with our disbursement policy your prize award money has been forwarded to our clearing / disbursement institution to release your funds to you either by certified check or money order or wire transfer to your designated local bank account which you will provide.
To expedite the processing, enclosed is a check of $3,800 US dollars which has been deducted from your winning ($38,000.00).
The enclosed check must be deposited into your bank account and please contact your claim agent to further finalize your claim. We ask that you keep your claim number confidentially secured until your claim has been properly processed and funds remitted to you as this is part of our security protocol to avoid any double claims. Please contact your claim agent OMAR CARROLL or ERIC BEST at 1-905-598-2663 for further clarification and instructions on claiming your winning immediately.

Note: Please note that all prize money must be claimed and finalized before FEBRUARY 22nd, 2008; any unclaimed funds shall then be forfeited.

Yours Truly

Lawrence Atkinson
(INTERNATIONAL CLAIM CORDINATOR)

Wrongfully texas
Denton, Texas
U.S.A.