Help support TMP


"GAO and lotteries -" Topic


4 Posts

All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page.

Please remember not to make new product announcements on the forum. Our advertisers pay for the privilege of making such announcements.

For more information, see the TMP FAQ.


Back to the Spam, Hack & Phish Plus Board


Areas of Interest

General

Featured Hobby News Article


Featured Link


Featured Workbench Article

Forest Bases on a Budget

Holy Roman Emperor Joseph III Fezian shows us that you don't need money to have great bases.


Featured Profile Article

Instant Mix Epoxy

Personal logo Editor in Chief Bill The Editor of TMP Fezian learns to pay attention to all of the details when buying two-part epoxy...


Current Poll


1,075 hits since 16 Aug 2013
©1994-2024 Bill Armintrout
Comments or corrections?


TMP logo

Membership

Please sign in to your membership account, or, if you are not yet a member, please sign up for your free membership account.
goragrad16 Aug 2013 4:46 p.m. PST

So stopped by my mother's to borrow some tools yesterday.

While I was there she asked me to listen to a message on her answering machine – she is hard of hearing and it was a bit distorted as well.

A woman had left a message stating that mother needed to call back on a financial matter.

Just to be sure, I dialed the number and asked to speak with her. Was passed through another intermediary and then on to a person answering to the name in the message.

I explained why I was calling and she asked to speak with my mother. Handed the phone to my mother and they conversed for a couple of minutes.

Mother had problems understanding the woman and passed the phone back to me. I then spoke to the woman who said she was with the US General Accounting Office and that she merely wished to determine if my mother wanted the $500 USDK check she had won as second prize in a lottery run by US Colonial Sweepstakes. I told her that I would have to check this out due to concerns about identity theft. She understood my concerns and stated that she could be reached at the same number to claim the prize when mother was ready.

There is indeed a website for the lottery company who have apparently been around for 25+ years.

However, no list of current lotteries with my mother's name – would think that they would have been the ones contacting her and that $500 USDK would be worth mentioning with the othe past winners.

Just to be completely certain and to bring it to their attention, I contacted the GAO public affairs office. Their rep thanked me for the contact, confirmed that they do not oversee lottery disbursements, and asked that I pass my information on to their IG who was looking into the scam.


Sadly I think that means mother didn't win $500 USDK (all taxes paid).

Probably should have asked what they wanted from mother just to pass on to the IG. Mother stated she had heard that a local woman had deposited a purported prize check for a couple of thousand and ended up having her account drained – seems like one way for someone to get account info.

P.S. The callback number had a DC area code (202). Apparently quite a few cell phones in that area are being used for scams – seems kind of redundant.

SECURITY MINISTER CRITTER16 Aug 2013 5:06 p.m. PST

Dude!

Covert Walrus03 Nov 2022 8:14 p.m. PST

Hmm. An air of legitimacy, at least.

Covert Walrus08 Apr 2023 4:55 p.m. PST

I distrust all these lotteries.
If you look closely, most of these so-called "Winners" have had huge payments made into their bank accounts by these ci devant "Lottery Commissions" . . . Which makes me think they're being paid to claim they won.

Sorry - only verified members can post on the forums.