"You have won 4 million" by phone

A forum for posting "You have one the lottery" letters, and for asking whether the e-mail that your received is real (it isn't). Real lotteries do NOT advise winners by e-mail, and they do NOT require the payment of any fees up-front.
paulogoulard

"You have won 4 million" by phone

Post by paulogoulard »

Ok, I thought those scams would not happen by phone, since the scammers have to spend too much time with every single target, but that is just what happened to me.
A guy calls me yesterday (Sunday) saying he has a delivery to make the next day, which is a holiday, so he has to know whether somebody will be home. So he gives me a lot of information about him - name, two phone numbers - but not about his company. Eventually he says I won 4 million and a Mercedes, which are the "delivery". He does not quite asks me for any info (not even my name), but says a lot of things I don't quite understand - he may be foreign or speak fast and garbled on purpose.
I kind of blow him off by mocking him and think it will be the end of it. But then he calls me on the next day, and right at the appointed time for delivery! So I just tell him to stop calling, but he calls again 2 hours later. I let my stepson handle it, and he decides to ask the other guy about the company, website, etc. The scammer says he'll e-mail the info, and we make up an address composed of profanities in Portuguese.
He may call again. How can I make more clear to him I did not fall for it? He sounds like he has as much difficulty understanding me as I have to him. He even fails to capture the sarcasm in my voice. I can't let the phone on silent.
And BTW how does the scam quite work? Will he ask for a delivery fee? Or personal information? Is this happening to other people? What is the point of this nonsense?
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Re: "You have won 4 million" by phone

Post by Judge Roy Bean »

Call the police. Arrange for the meeting with them. :D

After they cart him off to the jail and you can stop laughing, let us know what it was all about.

I'm guessing you'd have to give them a lot of personal information AND have to put up a lot of money to obtain your "prize."
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Unidyne
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Re: "You have won 4 million" by phone

Post by Unidyne »

Apparently, this is a telephone version of a "phishing" ploy, and the caller is trying to get your credit card & bank information. I had something similar happen to me years ago. Someone called up saying I won a prize in a magazine promotion and wanted my credit card info "for proper processing". I was suspicious about this, since why would they need my credit card number if I had won a prize? I told the caller that my credit card had recently been lost and I hadn't gotten my new number yet, so if they sent me the proper paperwork, I could send them my new number when my card arrived.

That was when the caller abruptly hung up and never called back.

I love the idea of a fake e-mail address with Portuguese profanities.
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Re: "You have won 4 million" by phone

Post by Pottapaug1938 »

Unidyne wrote:Apparently, this is a telephone version of a "phishing" ploy, and the caller is trying to get your credit card & bank information. I had something similar happen to me years ago. Someone called up saying I won a prize in a magazine promotion and wanted my credit card info "for proper processing". I was suspicious about this, since why would they need my credit card number if I had won a prize? I told the caller that my credit card had recently been lost and I hadn't gotten my new number yet, so if they sent me the proper paperwork, I could send them my new number when my card arrived.

That was when the caller abruptly hung up and never called back.

I love the idea of a fake e-mail address with Portuguese profanities.
Years ago, when I was living in Puerto Rico in between college and law school, I saw an obnoxious American couple (just off a cruise ship, I think) in old San Juan, complaining because no one they asked for help "[spoke] American". I walked up and offered my assistance; and they told me what they needed, in terms which made it clear that they considered themselves much better than any of the "dirty people around here."

There was a policeman nearby; so I took a piece of paper and wrote "Somos pendejos gordos. Necesitamos gran golpes al narices" (translation: some of it is NSFQ) on it, handed it to the couple and told them to hand it to the cop. "Once he sees that, he'll know exactly what the two of you need," I said, and immediately took my leave of them. I hid inside a local bar where, with some of the locals, we watched the couple hand the piece of paper to the cop. Oh boy, do I wish that I had had a camera that day.... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
Last edited by Pottapaug1938 on Mon May 28, 2012 7:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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paulogoulard

Re: "You have won 4 million" by phone

Post by paulogoulard »

He actually just called me again, which suggests that he DID write an e-mail to filhodaputa@cu.com (for Spanish speakers, that would be hijodeputa@culo.com). This time I just let it ring (it says "blocked", but it has to be him). He calls me like a clingy girlfriend, even though he just can't get an iota of information. In two calls, he was asking if I lived near a "Wal-mart, Walgreens and CVS". I just said yes, and in his mind that should really narrow down my address. Except for one thing: there are no Wal-marts in my area code!
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Re: "You have won 4 million" by phone

Post by fortinbras »

With ref to a delivery on a holiday: Publishers' Clearinghouse delivers its huge checks with balloons to some lucky winner on Superbowl Sunday .... so just to make sure that the winner is at home, they call day or two ahead and claim to be FedEx and they've got a package that they could drop off on Sunday if a particular person will be at home to sign for it. They do NOT reveal that they're bringing the million dollar sweepstakes prize.

Presumably anyone with your phone number has your street address. Ask (insist) that they put their offer in writing and mail it to you; the US Postal Inspectors have an excellent track record in convicting for mail fraud. If these people resist using the US mail it definitely smells.
paulogoulard

Re: "You have won 4 million" by phone

Post by paulogoulard »

Publishers' Clearinghouse delivers its huge checks with balloons to some lucky winner on Superbowl Sunday .... so just to make sure that the winner is at home, they call day or two ahead and claim to be FedEx and they've got a package that they could drop off on Sunday if a particular person will be at home to sign for it.
Maybe word of that prize got around and this guy hopes I think I'm getting it...? It would make sense. If that's the case, maybe more people are getting those calls.

Anyway, if it turns out I really won millions of dollars (plus balloons), I will keep you guys posted! :lol:

EDIT: It looks like there is a scam going around taking advantage of this "sweepstakes" prize you mentioned, and sometimes it is done by phone. http://contests.about.com/od/sweepstake ... usefaq.htm . So it's not a new thing. Is there another thread about this?