This happened to my  husband except his was one from Craigslist. posted wanted job add and this guy Email him and acts as if he is from out of town and is getting ready to move here and to please cash the check and send X amount to the painter of his house as his accountant could only print one check out... yeah OK! So the check came UPS bit just a check. no letter... for $970.55 ACT, Inc. Iowa city iowa .. and us bank 222 2 nd SE..
..yeah and the package was sent from the check looks very real and very tempting sense rent is due and we are broke. But at least we knew better! sad that people do this to anyone.but elderly and family's that could really use a break. Glad everyone posted to keep it out there that these checks are fake.

I've received 2 e-mails from a Mary Nicole, who is a scammer.  AVOID & BEWARE!


Sent: Monday, January 2, 2012 12:29 AM
Subject: Re: housing

Hi,

   Thank you very much for the response but before we move forward,i will like you to know the full information about me. I was born and raised in Wyoming,i am  quiet and easy going person to live with. I'm 26 years of age... I am extremely clean,quiet and respectful, I am sensitive, intelligent  and am easy to get on with. ..I am a faithful and committed person, who is very considerate of other people's feelings. I don't  drug and i dont smoke or drink.. I enjoy going out with my friends to movies, plays, parks, hikes, anything to do with the ocean and horses but i'm cool living with people.

  Right now, am working for a Non Government Organization on a program on children with orphans and heart related probs.My next program/seminars will be in your town and I will need a room to stay for these seminars, so I want to secure a room before my arrival.

I must confess that i'm comfortable with the area of the house/apt and i am ready to pay for the room. I will like to make the payment for the first month ahead of my arrival, and then i will make subsequent payment thereafter as i plan to stay for 6-12months.I have told my boss about this and he promised to make sure that he will meet up with the payment so that I can depart from here as scheduled.He also said I will have the advantage to make payment for deposit .I should arrive to your place on or before the 18th of January, so pls keep the room for me till my arrival.He also said my mode of payment will be the Most acceptable,safer and reliable means of payment which is United state certified money order/Cashier Check so get back to me with your name and address so that i can send you the payment as early as possible.

Kindest Regards.
Mary

Who was it?

Received check from ACT, Inc. P.O. Box 168, Lowa City, NY Iowa 52243 (that is not a mistake on my part, that was the phony address) for 3940.00 signed marshall Moore  US Bank Cedar Rapids IA  52401-1296, saying they were P&S Services Inc 1587 Broadway NY NY 10036 USA (Publisher's Clearing House and Promotion Co) (Unclaimed Prize Division) Tel 416-820-4722

I also received a "sweepstakes winner notification"  through the North American Retailers Guilds.  They sent me a check for $3995.00 and said I would have to pay the tax first of $2920.00 before I received my $150,000 winnings to be delivered through FedEx.  I was to call Nicole Hamilton at 1-416-833-0034.  It said at the bottom of the letter that payment receipts must be faxed to 1-206-202-6365 for proper documentation.  DON'T FALL FOR THIS SCAM!!!! I'm not sure if they tried to contact me by phone or not...I don't answer numbers that I don't know, and I doubt they'd leave a message.  You know, if these scammers were trying to take the government's money, they probably would have already been caught and prosecuted!

i also received the check in the mail from a jj hamilton 1-289-892- 5229 i went to bank and they told me that the #s on the check were wrong i hope they can contact these people and prosecute them

i also received the check in the mail from a jj hamilton went 1-289-892- 5229 to bank and they told me that the #s on the check were wrong i hope they can contact these people and prosecute them

Got the same letter today that all of you have gotten.  Knew it was a scam as soon as I read the letter.  Who owes more in taxes then the money you have "won".  I wonder if we could do a return to sender with all these letters and see how they feel when they get all this junk mail back.  Is there someone we should be reporting this to? Congressman, Police, news media?

Common sense: You would owe the check cashing place the money once the check bounced.

Yes, what do you think would happen if you cashed it at a check cashing place?

they are now using Gerber and Gerber corp. With an account on an Oklahoma bank.  My husband tried to call the number and everytime they put him on hold the phone would go dead or loose signal.  He tried back the next day and the phone just kept ringing and the second time he got a busy signal.  I'm so glad I decided to do a little research on this myself.

I have a new number for you to try it is 1-416-833-0034

I too received the same check with the same contact information - Nicole Hamilton 1-416-833-0034.  I tried to contact Nicole, however it did not go through.  It appears that they are now set up in Canada!  Glad that this website was available as I was about to deposit this check because it looked real!  Usually if it's too good to be true, you can bet it is...  Bummer, I could have used the $150,000 to invest in real estate!

*ATTENTION***** someone o i know cashed the check 3 months ago and they are getting calls daily demanding the money back to the bank do not do it. i got a check also and burned it in my fireplace, these people are going down

I just got one of those checks. I know it must be phony but I am going to check it out.

Reach Nicole Hamilton at 1-647-894-3907l.

I recieved a letter for a sweepstakes winnings, I knew it was a scam but wanted to mess around with them first, now I cant seem to get a hold of anyone. I also calles Serc. Reliability Corp and they said that they would like to know the check numbers, so if you recieve a check please call them and let them know. This is s*** can we do anything?

I recieved a letter from nicole hamilton and played the little game. When I finally confronted her on it she said call her back tommorrow and I knew that the number would be disconnected. Stupid bi*** I wanna mess with her some more does anyone know anymore numbers for her?

I received a letter as well and this one was from Serc.Reliability.Corp
same area code 1-647-219-4670 fax 1-206-202-6365, on may 26,2009, apparently these scam artists are still at it,for the simple fact that all the comments below are dated 2008 and mine was sent out recently, i knew immediately that it was a scam, so BEWARE they not only prey on the elderly but the young and broke too.

NISHA, I received the EXACT same thing yesterday.  Same amount of 150,000 dollars; same "check" amount of 3,990.00; same "Claim Agent", Nicole Hamilton (though I did not go so far as to contact her as you did).  And of course, Ms. Hamilton's contact # was a 905 Ontario area code.

The letter and check came from:
SERC.RELIABILITY.CORP.
2815 COLLISIUM CNTR DR
CHARLOTTE, NC 28217

Signed by Brian Gledale, CFO (not sure what that stands for, but in this case I'll bet on CHIEF FRAUD OFFICER)

Ultimately, there will be people who will fall for this scam.  It's up to each individual to be smart enough to know that this kind of money doesn't just magically appear in their mailbox.  There has to be a way to give these people a taste of their own medicine...

1(647)219-4670

I WISH I HAD DONE MY RESEARCH FIRST. I TO RECIEVED A LETTER IN THE MAIL SAYING THAT I HAD WON 150,000 DOLLARS. THEY SENT ME A SMALL CHECK FOR 3,990 AND TOLD ME TO DEPOSIT IN AND SEND THEM BACK 2,990 FOR THE TAXES. I SPOKE TO A WOMEN BY THE NAME OF NICOLE HAMILTON. SHE SAID TO SEND THE MONEY TO BARBARA CRAMTON THROUGH WESTERN UNION. THEN CALL HER BACK AND GIVE HER THE TRACKING #. THEN SHE WILL SEND ME THE 150,000 DOLLAR CHECK THROUGH FED EX IN 24 HOURS. I DID DEPOSIT THE 1ST CHECK BUT DID NOT DO THE WITHDRAWL AND SEND ANYTHING BACK. I CONTACTED MY TAX LADY WHO INFORMED ME OF THIS SCAM. SHE TOLD ME NOT TO WITHDRAWL ANYTHING FROM MY ACCOUNT. SHE EXPLAINED THAT IT HAS BEEN ALL ON THE NEWS. SHE TOLD ME THAT THE BANK WILL BOUNCE THE CHECK AND IF I HAVE SPENT THE MONEY THAT I WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING IT BACK PLUS WHAT EVER FEES THAT THE BANK CHARGES FOR BOUNCE CHECKS. I'M SO GLAD I CALLED HER FIRST......

p.s.

I have just gotten one of the letters today.  It looked really fishy, so I got on the Internet to do some research on the company, but found you guys receiving all these letters.  I am really glad that I had seen your postings, but you know I am not "stupid" or born yesterday.  They allways say do your research first!!!

hi I want to know did it go though or did it

I receive a similar letter today with a $3,999 check. It is good that I search the internet and read the above messages.  The phone number is 416-834-1856 (TORONTO area code).  The letter is from so called Fiduciary Trust Company LLP in Los Angeles and signed by Jon Bill. The bank name in the check is called Discovery Bank in San Marcus, CA.  Don't know if this bank is ever existed.  Please be alert when you receive a letter like.

OH, ALSO YOU WERE CONTACT A CARL OWENS WHEN YOU WANTED TO ACTIVATE THE CHECK.WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU JUST CASH THE CHECK LIKE AT A CHECK CASHING PLACE??

I RECIEVED 2 LETTERS LIKE THIS. THE FIRST WAS DATED 12/22/2008 FOR 1,400.00 WITH ADDITIONAL PAYMENT OF 3,871.18 FROM DATA LOGISTICS IN FLORIDA WITH A POST DATE FROM CANADA.THE CHECK LOOKED VERY REAL.  I CALLED AND WAS TOLD TO DEPOSIT THE CHECK AND THEN TAKE THE MONEY AND WIRE IT TO THEM, TO PROVE I WAS THE PERSON ON THE CHECK. I DEPOSITED THE CHECK AND MY BANK HELD IT FOR 2 WEEKS AND TOLD ME THAT THIS WAS NOT A CHECK AND NO SUCH BANK EXSISTED. MICHAEL DADDY @ 1-905-783-0520 WAS THE NUMBER HE HAD A THICK ACENT I CALLED THEM AND TOLD THEM IT WAS A RIP OFF AND THEY TRIED TO TELL ME IT WAS TRUE AND A GOOD CHECK. THEN THEY HUNG UP.THE SECOND WAS DATED 1/16/2009 AND WAS FROM JON BILL(LOSS PREVENTION) @ 1-647-834-8785 WITH A CHECK FROM CAPITAL CITY BANK THAT ALSO LOOKED VERY REAL FOR 985.00 WITH A PAYOFF OF 50,000.00 IN 2 DAYS BY A SPECIAL COURIER SERVICE.THE LETTER STATED THAT THEY HAD BEEN LOOKING TO GIVE ME THIS MONEY SINCE 2007? QUINCY QUALITY L.L.B. WAS THE COMPANY OUT OF FLORIDA WITH ANOTHER CANADA POST MARK.  I CALLED THIS GUY AND SAID "YOU DO KNOW THIS IS A RIP OFF DON'T YOU" AND THEY HUNG UP.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE POST OFFICE HAS NOT DONE ANYTHING ABOUT THIS? ALSO THE COMPANIES THEY ARE SAYING THEY REPRESENT LIKE WAL-MART AND MCDONALDS AND KROGER WHY CAN'T THEY DO ANY THING?? I TOOK THE CHECK TO WAL-MART WHERE THERE IS A MONEY GRAM OUTLET AND THEY TOLD ME THAT LOTS OF PEOPLE HAVE COME IN WITH THESE CHECKS. WHAT A RIP OFF!! I THOUGHT THAT IT MIGHT BE FROM THE SURVEYS THAT ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF SALES RECIEPTS THAT ASK YOU QUESTIONS THEN ENTER YOU IN A CONTEST? I PLAN TO HANG ONTO THE CHECKS AND LETTERS.

I recieved the letter from Northern Trust and decided to research it online before calling the number and I am glad I did.  My friend's father-in-law just recently lost $25,000 dollars to a scam like this out of the Cayman Islands.  When he tried to rectify it they even threatened his life over the phone.  They reported this to the FBI and all they told him to do was stay with family for awhile.  What I don't understand is if we can contact these scumbags why can't the authorities do something to apprehend and charge these lowlifes.  Also, there is a website for a Northern Trust Bank in Las Vegas what I don't know is whether it is legitimate or another scam.

hate not have hahah

Yeah i got the same letter. i was really hoping it was true. i just dont get how you could process a phony check from a bank with noone under that account. im glad i did some research first. is there anyway i could get this guy screwed over. i have bums like this.

Oh my God!! I fell for it!!! I got the same letter and did what they told me!!! my bank put a 3 day hold on it then I got the cash and sent it to them!!! please anything I can do?   I want to die!!!! I will be $4,875 short on my bank wont it?