I received a letter in the mail very similar to many others. It was in a plain white business envelope with no return address and a Canadian stamp. It states that I am "one of the winners in the second category Sweepstakes Draw held on January 30, 2009." It gave me the serial number and the "lucky winning numbers." The total sum was $253, 000. They sent me a check for $4, 750 and stated that I needed to deposit the check into my checking and as soon as it clears the bank (he stated "usually in 2-3 business days") withdraw $3430 and send it to the name and address on the letter and immediately call this number back with the control number then they will call me back with the tracking number for the rest of my winnings along with all the tax papers for the US. I asked if it was for real and he said yes. I called the BBB and they said there was nothing they could do because it's out of the United States. When I asked what to do next they said that I needed to write VOID on the check and take it to the Post Office. I called the company that supposedly wrote the check to see if they were aware of the scam. The person I talked to was aware of the scam and thanked me for calling. He said it started on the west coast and it had made its way to the east coast (where we are located). He said he had talked to many people who had received a check similar to mine and they were very understanding that the company was a victim too.

I just wish there was more that could be done to the people who are doing this scam, but I understand its extremely hard to track the information down.