My underage son received a letter notification that he had won $200,000 USD in a prize drawing along with a very real looking bank draft in the amount of $4850.00. The letter stated that he could not 'use the check' until he had contacted someone for 'activation and further clarifications'.

Red flags started going up once I read this letter, starting with why they sent this to my underage son, along with several typo errors that you will notice in the letter below. The other issues that I did have were that the numbers did not add up. The amount that I was required to send to 'claim my winnings' and the amount of the winnings was about $45,000 short of the amount I (or my son) had won.

When I contacted the number, the man who answered the phone said that I was to have my son endorse the check and deposit it into MY account and then call back. After I call back, he then told me that I would be instructed to obtain a MoneyGram and send to a tax officer (in Canada) who would then notify them that I had completed the requirements and they would then send via FedEx the winnings to me. I told him that I would not be giving any account information or personal information on this matter & he told me that they would not ask for it.

I also asked about US taxes and he stated that those would have to be paid on my own by the 'winnings'.
Since my curiosity was still not satisified, I called the bank that the check was drawn on (in Springfield, IL) and they promptly told me this was a fraudulent check.
End of story....I HOPE NOT!!!

The letter is duplicated below:

Ref# LFI/9/24/008; Batch#: 5521
Attention: (my son's full name)

SUBJECT: FINAL AWARD CLAIM NOTIFICATION.

Congratulations!!! Liberty financial in association with Liberty Lottery Corp. is pleased to inform you of the North American prize draws held on July 14th, 2008. Due to a mix up of winning numbers and names entered in for the draws, the result for the draws was released in August 13th, 2008. Your name attached to ticket number 743-2876-652 with serial number 5432-46 drew the lucky numbers 5-10-32-24-14-29 which consequently won in the 2nd category. You have therefore been approved for the lump sum payout of $200,000.00 USD. The winning prize has been credited to file/reference numbers stated above. This payment is from a total cash prize of $2.5 Million USD. Your winning prize has been deposited with a security company and insured in your name. Due to the mix up of winning numbers and names entered in for the draws as I mentioned above, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claim has been fully processed and your check for your winning prize delivered to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claims and unwarranted advantage by participants.

You might wonder or be curious about how your name was picked up for the draws, well, to clear that curiousity, all participants were selected through a random computer ballot system drawn from over 500,000 names of shoppers who have shopped recently or in the past with either Wal-Mart, Sears, J C Penny and the Home Depot. These names were selected from the CENTERAL COMPUTER DATA BASE of these malls.

FUNDS ENCLOSED: Subject to this notification, we have secured funds for you via the check attached for $4,850.00 through one of our financial sponsors against this winning, The funds are required to pay for all service charges including capital gain tax locally regarding your winnings. This will save you the trouble of paying from your personal pocket or having to raise the required amount to take care of these expenses. All winners in this category are subject to security verification and proof of ownership.

The funds provided for you have come in form of the enclosed check. Do not attempt to use this Check until you call to speak with Dan Algor @ 1-416-826-5158 for activation and further clarifications. Calls should be between the hours of 9am-8pm eastern time. Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Saturdays. Always quote your (Ref # & Batch #).
Taxes (GST)-------------------- $3,650.00 Dollars.
Administrative cost:-------------$1,100.00 Dollars.
A bank draft payment of $150,000 USD less the taxes and administrative costs will be mailed to you before the official deadline legally approved by the organizers for settlement of claims.
Yours truly,
Graham Wadley

Bigdaddysgirl
Lumberton, Texas
U.S.A.