Legitimacy of the prize

[sifer]

Hm...

I admit I do need a bit of a help here. Where's Deep Dish when you need him..


A member of my family got a letter saying she won a prize, I don't know exactly what the prize is because it doesn't say, it just says "You are this year's million dollar sweepstakes award winner."

It goes to say that she just have to call this number and the rep will proceed to help.

She "won" a prize but when I asked her when was the last time she entered a sweepstakes, she says she never entered one or must've forgot.

The check is real (I have a family in the bank), and the check is from a company called Southern Container Corp. which is addressed from MA and the letter is from WA, but the mail itself is from Canada. The mail has no return address.

What's going on?

The catch of this is that 60% will be wired back to this company called Global Trust Fund & Financial Service.

All in all, what's wrong? I personally don't think it's real, the offer that is.

And strangely enough, it has spelling errors.

For a money as large as that, and as real as the check, there's spelling errors?

 

[Duo]

I'm 100% sure there's a catch involved. Whether or not it's a straight-up scam, I'm not sure.

Personally, I would throw it away.

 

[sifer]

Originally posted by Duo
I'm 100% sure there's a catch involved. Whether or not it's a straight-up scam, I'm not sure.

Personally, I would throw it away.

That's the question.. hm.. ever received one of these Duo?

Why would you throw away a real check?

 

[BrotherAP]

A real check? For a million dollars? With no contact info?

Who mails out million dollar checks with no contact info...

In any case, if you think it's legit, a million bucks is worth paying for a lawyer. I wouldn't settle for anything less the legitimate legal advice on this one.

But don't get your hopes up

 

[sifer]

Originally posted by BrotherAP
A real check? For a million dollars?

A real check. This check is an installment so it's only part of the million.

I hadn't thought of calling of a lawyer, I will be doing that.

 

[MVPlaya]

Haha, cold sales keep getting worse and worse. They'll ask for you to come to a presentation so that they can sell you timeshare offers.

No million dollars for you.

Haha.

 

[spider_007]

i get letters like this too. It's extreamly hard to figure out from reading it that you actally didn't win **** and they are just trying to get you to enter into the draw so that they can send you tons more junk mail.... First time I got one of those letters I had to read the whole thing 3 times untill i found the true meaning of the wording. I mean it's nicely done. YOU HAVE TO READ THE FINE PRINT, A LONG WITH EVERY SINGE LETTER ON THERE. they are a sneaky bunch.

 

[diplomatic_lies]

Call the government consumer advice board (not sure what they call it in your country, but ring your local council and ask if they have a government-based organisation which advises consumers on companies).

They will tell you if the company is legit, and has actually given out prizes before.

Also how much was the cheque for? Personally I'd just cash in the cheque, let it clear, and keep the money

 

[Deep Dish]

Originally posted by sifer
Where's Deep Dish when you need him..

Oh, just reconnected with the girl of my dreams from two years ago...

Anyway, the ploy reminds me of the film Requiem For A Dream, whereby an elderly mother is swept up into believing she was selected to appear on television and win a big prize. Anyhow, I would advise to not proceed further. Whether it is a scam or a seedy marketing ploy, there is no million dollars at the end of the golden brick road. In addition to no return mailing address, multiple mailing origins, typos, and lack of entrying a contest; one thing to consider about Southern Container Corp. is that it is not registered with the Better Business Bureau.

 

[SlaterT]

the number she has to call is probably a mega premium rate line. Also if money has to go out of her account again, that sounds a bit odd - similar to a 419 scam (google it).

Watch out for her bro.

SlaterT