I am being plagued many times each week by letters from apparently bogus companies in the Netherlands telling me I have won a huge sum of money (usually between £20,000 and £40,000) in something I never entered, and to receive my cheque "within 48 hours" I must send them Administration Fee (usually an amount between £10 and £25) and my cheque "will then be sent within 48 hours"but if I do not reply within a short period I will lose the cheque. The latest today comes from a firm calling itself ICFP giving an address in Regus Zen Building 3584 BH Utrecht. I am 99% certain they are all scams and send them back without the fee, saying "please deduct Administration Fee from my winnings" or else I put them straight in bin without answering. But do others have any experience of how to deal with these scams?. Does reporting them to Trading Standards or the Dutch Embassy achieve anything? Or have any of you sent of an administration fee and if so what happened thereafter?.
2007-03-19 10:36:21 · 5 answers · asked by Wamibo 5 in Business & Finance ➔ Other - Business & Finance
DON'T send them money - they are 100% Scam.
I do one of two things - either, as you said, 'Deduct the fee from my winnings'.
OR
Mark the envelope 'Unsolicited Mail - Return to sender'
Either way, I don't hear from them again.
2007-03-19 10:42:36 · answer #1 · answered by Froggy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you do report them to Trading Standards they will at least be aware of what scams are out there and can issue warnings in press tv etc for the more gullible people and possibly get in touch with the relevant dutch authorities. ive had them from all over the world this last week. God knows why theyre pickin on me.
2007-03-19 10:40:38 · answer #2 · answered by jeanimus 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
don't even bother reporting them - they are inundated with those and others. the scammers use software to generate millions (possbily billions, no joke) everyday. and it's not just from holland. there are also ones from nigeria and south africa claiming to represent someone who has died and left millions. also canadian lottery, manufacturers representatives for chinese firms expanding. the list goes on. just send them all to your junk e-mail box. you will NEVER, EVER receive any sum of money.
2007-03-19 10:46:34 · answer #3 · answered by dwalkercpa 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
my advice...SHRED IT ALL!! - if you havent entered a competition...how can you be a winner?? - think about it!!..why are you even opening the junk mail?? actually...seriously - some elderly people have responded and sent the admin money...and they have lost their life savings...so you need to wake up and smell the coffee!!
2007-03-19 11:10:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I get them from India , England and Australia to name a few ...all scams !!
2007-03-19 10:40:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋