Zenith Financial And Trust & Suntrust Bank Lottery winner scam, I was sent a bogus check for $4875.00 to pay them with Toronto Ontario
I was sent a check for $4875.00 drawn on Suntrust Bank, 211 N Liberty St, Rockville, MD 20852 for part payment as a winner of "DE-LOTTO AMERICAN SHOPPERS LOTTERY". This check was deducted from my entitled winnings of $125,000 for the payment of taxes. All I needed to do was contact Linda Robert, Promotion Manager, by phone "for further clarification" and then I could deposit the $4875 check and pay $2875 for taxes through "WESTERN UNION" OR "MONEYGRAM".
Unfortunately I don't have $2875 to throw away so I guess I'll lose out on the $125,000 prize. I will see my banker today about this official looking check for $4875 (gee it even has a little hologram sticker it must be okay)
Gary
Hartland, Michigan
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Mr Common Sense
Holland,Ohio,
U.S.A.
Read the papers
#2Consumer Suggestion
Wed, February 18, 2009
Scams like this have been ripping off the people for a long time. You win this mysterious contest that you never entered, they send you a check to pay the fees or taxes so you can get the rest of your winnings. I bet they even tell you in the cover letter not to discuss this with anyone. Here is how it plays out... you deposit the check into your account. Hopefully the bank teller is sharp enough to catch it and let you know that the check is a fake amd it all ends right there. If not, the bank will probably put a 7-10 day hold on the check giving you the false sense that the check will certainly clear by this time - but it won't, and the bank has no way of knowing that is has or has not cleared the bank it is drawn on. After the hold falls off, you wire or Western Union the $2875 to the scammers. Then a few days later you are notified by your bank that the check is coming back. You are responsible for the check you deposited (debited back out of your account) along with the $2875 you wired. The scammers know what they are doing and can create fraudulent checks drawn on any bank. The bank is not at fault here. They can't prevent people from making fake checks! You on the other hand can be blamed for depositing a check that you probably knew wasn't real and the bank can make a case for fraud when you deposited the check. It amazes me how people continue to fall for these scams when they have been all over the news. Sweepstakes, lotteries, secret shopper programs - they are all scams if they ask you to send them money. Blame the scam not the bank.