I have called the company that issued the check. A sweet young lady answered the phone and assured me they NEVER wrote these checks - and the entire scam was based on stolen checks. Luckily THEY didn't lose any money, but SOME PEOPLE who received these checks were swindled out of their own money while the check they deposited BOUNCED.
Now I'm one of those people who NEVER won a damn thing. I play the NY State Lotto when it goes above 20 Megabucks. I figure if I'm gonna' get lucky, I wanna' hit "the big one", and it would be "a wrap" until I shuffle off this mortal coil. Well, $115K is certainly NOT "the big one"; it won't even buy you a ramshackle shell of a fixer-upper house around these parts... but it WOULD buy several new PCs and some more really neat techno-toys. This sum - a tad more than a decent pittance - is enough to make the "win" believable to those like me, who have never won a &$#@! -ing thing, and cause them to act on the fraud letter without investigating first.
Once a year - maybe - I might get TWO out of SIX numbers on the Quick-Pick... and don't you people who know I'm a preacher, get on my case about gambling being a sin. Look at the Old Testament. How many times did Moses draw "the short straw" so-to-speak? I'm not gambling; I'm TITHING. I know my chances of winning anything are greater than one in 1 x 10140. "Render unto Caesar..." Like many people, I often enter these Internet-based "contests", and for all the Sony Vaio laptops I was supposed to get for FREE, I figured this might be one of those spam-contests I was ASSHOLE enough to fill out when I was distracted by a pop-up, or had nothing else better to do... but I never bought a British Lotto ticket, and was racking my brain-pan to figure out WHERE this could have come from.
I decided to get a second opinion. I showed the letter to Jozi, and he said "sign the check (which is a real check) and deposit it today... and by the way... your rent just went up". Some help HE was! (but that's why he's the CHIEF ASSHOLE, and I'm just a lowly Lieutenant Commander).
In any event, to avoid becoming a BIGGER asshole, I fired up my notebook, started my Maxthon browser, and typed "Royal British Lotto John Lawson" into the search window. A few seconds later, twenty or more tabs open up, and I discovered this whole thing was some kind of fraud - the URLs where I discovered this information, and a reproduction of the most significant findings are reproduced below. Too bad. I could have used the money.
I don't know how I could be entered into a Lotto game anonymously. I wanted to know who the "sponsor" was, and why this "sponsor" would buy ME a British Lotto ticket instead of just playing (him) self. I also wondered why this check came from WAREHOUSE CONCEPTS Inc. instead of the British Lotto Commission. Questions, questions, and more questions. The "normal" human reaction to a small windfall is to go cash the check immediately. Had I done so, I could have spent the night in the 114th Precinct jailhouse eating stale frozen (crystallized) peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until the truth was discovered. No thanks! The check was a REAL check - only it was STOLEN
"I Won The Lotto"
@
www.AssholesAmongUs.com
? Copyright 2006? David Todeschini? all rights reserved
On October 19, I received the following letter in the mail. It was accompanied by a check for $2, 995.90 which was supposed to be part of a $115, 500.00 British Lottery windfall (minus a $7, 854.00 Sponsor's Commission)... well, I'll let you read a verbatim text reproduction (OCR-scanned) of the letter and look at a copy of the check (sans the check watermarks) before I continue this tirade...
ROYAL BRITISH LOTTO
BRITISH RANDOM DRAWS
AWARD CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that:
David Todeschini
Ret: #000 832321 Z030
Winner Code: FG4482
DATE: OCTOBER 14
We are pleased to inform you that after the just concluded ROYAL BRITISH RANDOM LOTTO held in London, England, that you emerged as one of the winners of the British Random Draws International. Participants were selected through a computer ballot system draw from one million two hundred thou? sand names (1, 200, 000) drawn from Asia, Europe and North America. Your name attached to ticket number 704-8043 with serial number 264-15126 drew the lucky numbers of 18-32-9-25-37 which subsequently won the lottery in the third category. You have therefore been approved for the lump sum of $115, 500.00 USD (ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS ONLY). This is from a total cash prize of $2, 450, 500.00 USD (TWO MILLION FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS) shared among (Twenty- three) international winners in different categories.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Assistance check of $2, 995.90 is enclosed to enable you finance the international clearance fees of $2, 846.50. Your clearance fee should be remitted to our designated North American Agent. Consequently, you will receive a total of $115, 500.00 minus $7, 854.00 (6.8% Sponsor's Commission). Invariably, you will receive a total of $107, 646.00. Your agent will give you further details.
We ask that you keep this award from public notice until your claim has been processed and money remitted to your account, as this is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unwarranted taking of advantage of the program by the participants and the public.
To begin your lottery claim, contact your claim agent, MONICA BROWN, of Zenith Financial Manage? ment Group at 4485 GATEWAY BLVD. NW, STE 305, EDMONTON, AB T6H 503, an accredited agency to BRITISH MEGA LOTTO at TEL:1-780-604-8272
Note that all prize money must be claimed not later than OCTOBER 30. Ensure you contact your agent for the ACTIVATION AND AUTHORISATION of your check.
CONGRATULATIONS! Once more.
JOHN LAWSON
PRIZE CO-ORDINATOR
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