Complaint Review: SUN TRUST FINANCE - FRED HARRIS - DIANA HART

I received a letter with no return address, postmarked www.canadapost.ca, 070726 19:12 V6B3AD083. The letter was from Sun Trust Finance Inc, Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada.

The Letter stated that Id won a second category lottery draw held June 6th 2007, giving a ticket serial number and advised me Id won a lump sum of US $450,000.00, that $4700.00 US was enclosed for the payment of Canadian Non-Resident Government Service Tax (GST). The tax agent listed is Monica Elder (probably fictitious)

The check was supposedly drawn against Citizens State Bank in Clara City, MN and the Company Name on the Check was T Mobile USA, Plano, TX in the amount of $4700.00 as stated above.

The tax amount due was $2800 and was to be paid via Moneygram or Western Union.

I was advised to contact Fred Harris and not to act on this letter until I spoke to my claim agent.

Ok, red flags were already going up, this looked like computer paper, not standard letter head paper. I called Mr. Harris. This is a residence, if you listen to the background noise, you can hear a pet bird of some sort and other household noises.

When I asked Mr. Harris how my name was drawn in a Canadian Lottery I never entered, he got very hostile, told me that if I didnt want the money no one was going to twist my arm to take it. I told him I just didnt want to get scammed into something that was illegal. He assured me that this was a real check and that nothing was illegal. I didnt buy it for a minute. A REAL claim agent would not get hostile, theyd provide logical answers as well as be willing to give you proof of legality.

I am not going to cash this check, but I want to do my part to ensure these people are stopped. There are a lot of people out there that actually trust these things. I know a woman who cashed one of these several months ago, she didnt touch the money because she wasnt sure it was real, 30 days later her bank contacted her she lost out on a $30 charge for a bounced check, could have been $58,000 there are bigger scams than this one out there. Let me know what else I can do to help stop these people.

Jenny
Salt Flat, Texas
U.S.A.