I need help to solve a scam that is circulating in the USA & Canada?

Question

They sent me a letter on 8/24/07 stating I won 250,000.00 along with a check for 4788.00 they want me to send them back 2900.00. My fiance' recieved on like it back in March and we called the company and the bank to see if it was ligit they said it was but after we deposited it in our account it bounced and we had already sent them the money through money gram, I have copies of everything including the check Please can someone help me out to put these fraud people away for good?

Answer 1

Fake lottery:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre40.shtm

Unfortunately, the company and bank you called were their contacts. You ended up calling the scammer to verify if the check was good. I've had people bring in those letters so I've seen them.

Right now you are out the $2900.00 and probably owe the bank.

You can try contacting your local law enforcement.
It would also be mail fraud so you can report it to the post office.
I think the FTC likes to know when people lose money.
https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

But unfortunately, there will probably be no resititution for you and there is nothing to do but add yourself to the data bases of other victims to help track down these thieves. So please report them everywhere even you don't get anything out of it.

Answer 2

Basically what happened to you is traditonally known as "the spainish prisoner", currently known as "advance fee fraud". They want money up front for some sort of weird situation that promises to pay you big in the long run.

First you need to know what happened to you and what you are up against. So read these web sites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Prisoner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_fee_fraud

Then contact these agencies.

In all probability this scam comes from some place in Africa. So this is where you need to start.

http://www.efccnigeria.org/

Then interpol.

http://www.interpol.int/default.asp

Interpol probably won't persue it because it is "only" three grand. They recieve reports every day of much larger amounts. To me loosing three thousand dollars would be loosing everything. But they will probably point you in a direction even if it's not Nigeria.

One thing I would say is that you should not expect any money back. Because these scams are run out of foreign countries there is absolutely nothing your government can do for you.

You should persue it because you want to make sure it doesn't happen to other people which requires the help of many victims. However you will never get your money back.

I am very sorry to be the one to tell you this but I know people who work very hard to bring down scams like this and it takes several people, lot's of effort, & years.

You got conned and the best thing you can do financially from now on is to be very skeptical of anything that happens on the the internet.

I am 99% sure from what you have told me that this took place online. If it wasn't you should contact the FBI immediately.

http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm
http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/internetschemes.htm

Answer 3

Unfortunately you have fell for a very old scam. When I receive one of these, it either goes straight in the bin, or if there is a reply paid letter, I send it back asking them to deduct the 2,900 from the 250,000 and forward the balance. Did it not occur to you that you had not even entered a competition that could win you this money? You can try a lawyer, but you will probably find that these people are based in Nigeria and cannot be touched. If, as you say, your bank told you that this was legit, I would sue them for incompetence and bad advice, that is your only chance of getting your money back.

Answer 4

I got like hundreds of those by email too, and you didn't call a "real" bank, you probably call at the guys anonimous cell. That's and very old scam, th3e only way to put them away is not paying attention to the scam, nobody wins 250,000 from "secret lotteries" you never heard about.

And the check is an old trick, you should have waited to see if your bank could really cash it.

Just report them to the FBI, they got and unit in charge of that kind or crimes but the chances of getting them are very slim unless they have done some mistake.

Answer 5

You got scammed. Chances are you will not get your money back. Anytime someone says you won something and then says send money for in order to get your winnings You will be scammed. If you won legitimately you would not be asked to send money. They would just send you money. If it sounds too good to be true, It probably isn't true.

Answer 6

http://www.consumer.gov/sentinel/

See how law enforcement all over the world work together to fight fraud, using Consumer Sentinel, an innovative, international law enforcement fraud-fighting program.

Use this site to:

Get the facts on consumer frauds from Internet cons, prize promotions, work-at-home schemes, and telemarketing scams to identity theft.

Report your fraud complaints so they can be shared with law enforcement officials across the U.S. and around the world.

Answer 7

There isn't anything you can do. You've been scammed. This has been going on for years, why haven't you heard about it?

If something is too good to be true, then it probably isn't!

Answer 8

Congrats. You have no chance of getting any real help. Report it to the police, if they will take your report. Next time..too good to be true..ALWAYS IS