I just received a call this morning from that David guy mentioned above saying that I won 2.5 million dollars and a car. After pretending to be really excited I asked where I can pickup my winnings, he said" "no no no, you have to pay 15% taxes first before he can release the winnings." After quietly snickering I said, " no no no, Canadians don't pay any taxes on lottery winnings and there's no such company called The Canadian Lottery Company." I also asked for their lottery licence number. The a$$ wipe quickly hung up!

I wish the government would do something about these scammers! The 1-876-487-8891 has been around for a long time scamming people and as of this morning is still active. Everyone that reads this should hide their phone number first, call the number and give these douches a piece of your mind!

I received the exact same voicemail.....from David Cotter from this exact number to call him back.  Only it wasn't Reader's Digest.....it was Sweepstakes Canada.  He said that I entered my name on a coupon and I need to call back to claim my prize.  Ha...ha....NOT likely!!! So glad that I searched the number first. Let's be safe.  Let's be SMART!

I had a voicemail saying the coupon I had completed was selected and I had won 2.5 million dollars, and a mercedes benz......

I gave this inbred piece of s*** what he deserves.  He doesn't need to be hearing from me EVER AGAIN. And respectively I'd assume he won't waste his f****ng time calling my number again.   You know who I am a***ole.
  PUBLISHERS CLEARING HOUSE.......MY A**!!!

Its a scam.  The scammer will trick you into giving him money.  He will never give you any money.  

Delete the message.  Do not reply to it.

We have reportedly have won 2 million dollars

Just received a message from David Carter (Cotter?) telling me that I am this month's Readers Digest Sweepstakes second prize winner.  I wonder when Readers digest moved their offices to Jamaica?  Anyway I guess I won't be collecting this prize cause I won't be calling him back.

I got this call they said they were from ups (united postal service)that I had a package waiting. Called back but no answer. Is this a scam?  number is 876-487-8891

Thanks!!!

Ellos me hablan del 8764870883 y me dicen q gane un premio, me tienen cansada :(

Oh, this crazy call comes in every two or three days.  Sometime the caller has such a thick accent then today the caller spoke very clearly (but with definite accent) and oh yes, I hear the words certified check" in the gobble-de-gook.  I have hung up immediately and had them call back right away and today I told him there was no "Mr. Johns" at this number.  He was quite insistent about speaking with Mr. Johns and not me.  So frustrating to leave what I am doing to find this crazy call.   Not answering does not discourage.  How, oh, how, do we get rid of this nuisance?  It has been good to vent at least.

This number called my cell phone ~ I was talking to someone at the time - they didn't leave a voice mail.

800NOTES IS NOT JUST A PLACE TO POST COMPLAINTS ABOUT CALLERS - THEY ALSO POST INFORMATION ON PHONE SCAMS LIKE THIS ONE


under the lastest NEWs header on the right

Scammers Impersonate FTC, Promise Phony Sweepstakes Prizes
18 May 2010
?Hi, I?m calling from the Federal Trade Commission to tell you that you have won $250,000??

The FTC has issued a warning alerting the public that someone who claims to work for the Federal Trade Commission calls to inform that the callee has won a lottery or sweepstakes.

The scam goes like this: The caller informs you that in order to receive the prize all you have to do is pay the taxes and insurance. He or she then asks you to wire money or send a check for an amount between $1,000 and $10,000.

The caller might suggest that the FTC is supervising the giveaway. He or she might even use the name of a real FTC employee. Your Caller ID might display the Federal Trade Commission?s name or a Washington, DC area code.

Don?t be surprised if you receive repeated calls and follow-up faxes. No matter how convincing the impersonation, you should never send money to claim a prize. No FTC employee will ever call to ask you to send money. Legitimate sweepstakes companies won?t either. Many older consumers and their families have reported this kind of scam, but anyone could be contacted.

Keep from falling for the lure of sweepstakes scams by taking a few precautions:

?Don?t pay to collect sweepstakes winnings. If you have to pay to collect your winnings, you haven?t won anything. Legitimate sweepstakes don?t require you to pay ?insurance,? ?taxes,? or ?shipping and handling charges? to collect your prize.
?Hold on to your money. Scammers pressure people to wire money through commercial money transfer companies like Western Union because wiring money is the same as sending cash. If you discover you?ve been scammed, the money?s gone, and there?s very little chance of recovery. Likewise, resist any push to send a check or money order by overnight delivery or courier. Con artists recommend these services, so they can get your money before you realize you?ve been cheated.
?Look-alikes aren?t the real thing. It?s illegal for any promoter to lie about an affiliation with ? or an endorsement by ? a government agency or any other well-known organization. Disreputable companies sometimes use a variation of an official or nationally recognized name to try to confuse you and give you confidence in their offers. Insurance companies, including Lloyd?s of London, do not insure delivery of sweepstakes winnings.
?Phone numbers can deceive. Some con artists use Internet technology to call you. It allows them to disguise their area code: although it may look like they?re calling from Washington, DC, or your local area, they could be calling from anywhere in the world.
?File a complaint with the FTC. If you receive a call from someone who claims to be a representative of the government trying to arrange for you to collect supposed sweepstakes winnings, file a complaint at ftc.gov or call 1-877-FTC-HELP. Your complaint will be most useful to enforcement officials if you include the date and time of the call, the name or phone number of the organization that called you, the FTC employee name that was used, the prize amount, the amount of money requested, the payment method, and any other details.

i am at work and this telephone number has been calling me saying they have checks for me for large amounts. they also called and said they were from the irs and the federal government. can some one please post ways to get these idiots to stop calling me. this has gotten out of control and needs to be addressed properly

Have been receiving calls from various 876 and private numbers. The caller says they're affiliated with various companies, UPS, Publisher's Clearing House, and proclaims to have a check for me. I tell them to quit calling and hang up. The calls have been coming in earlier, this morning at 7 am.