Grandpa,
I just got something in the mail that I think is another scam. It says, in big red letters, that this is the second notice. I never got the first. In big letters, “Deadlines are enforced!” On the back there is an address in Florida. (Grandpa is not revealing this post office box number or city.) Inside it announces that it is an official prize communication offering $10,000 a week for 52 weeks. Cash. It is underlined twice. It does admonish to read the communication carefully. There is prize authorization number that no one else can use. There are three steps to claim the prize; call the number given, give the authorization number and confirm your address. Failure to take these steps will exclude me from this life-changing opportunity. I noticed several typographical errors. I have learned to read carefully. I nearly lost a bundle on a fake Publisher’s Clearing House scam. I want the Aurora Postal Service to call that number given. I should take this to the post office, maybe? Or they will they just toss it in the circular file?
Grandpa says:
If you do call that number, you will deserve the headaches you get. You have already been burned in the past by this same scam. I am glad you wrote me about this one. The typos you noticed are indications that the letter was printed off shore. This is done in an attempt to avoid certain types of prosecution for U.S. mail fraud. Being as the letter was not generated in Aurora, the Aurora Police Department is unable to investigate the scam. It would be a postal service investigation. Because you were too wise to call the phone number you are not a victim.
However, Grandpa still advises that you offer the letter to the postal authorities. Let them decide if they want your copy of the letter. Do not expect them to give you any information because they will not divulge information on any ongoing investigation. Not even with a newspaper columnist or his staff members. This particular scam has several parameters. First, when you call to give them your address and other personal information, caller ID gives them your phone number, too. A simple credit check then gives them a boat load of personal information. This is a gold mine for those who sell sucker lists. A sucker list is just that, a list of information about individuals who allow their greed to cloud their thinking.
Really, who would give away a half-million dollars just because you called them with a prize authorization number? One of the best customers for your information is those who then send to you a letter offering you certain subscriptions for deeply discounted prices. The catch, if you do not return the letter refusing the offer, you subscribed to a magazine. You will get one copy, then be billed for it. The billing does not stop until you relent and send them an early cancellation fee.
Once again, do not let your hopes for a big cash windfall be your big cash downfall.
Got something stuck in your craw? Ask Grandpa. Address your letters to Ask Grandpa c/o The Voice, PO Box 123, Aurora, IL 60507 or send an E-mail to askgrandpa@thevoice.us.