I received a letter in the mail marked BINGO LOTTO, Certificate of Award, indicating I've emerged as one of the winners of the NORTH AMERICA INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROGRAMS, along with a check from Superior Tire & Rubber Corporation to pay for the tax and clearance fee for $4, 998.65. If I cash the check and pay the amount they claim I will then receive the balance due of $60, 001.35 via courier service within 24 hours. It also says I should remit the fee to their designated North America Agent in Ontario and that I should contact my agent below for processing of my winning. At the bottom it reads:
Mike Harrisson, Prize Director/Bingo Lotto
Contact Laura Wilson of Mikelson Financial Management Group
51 Marion Crescent
Barrie, ONT L4M 2L5
a Subsidiary of Bingo Trust Corporation
700 Braodway St.
Manahattan, New York, NY 1003
(705) 770-1757
How do I know this is a scam?
1. When I call the recording states the message box is full so I never get anyone to talk to.
3. The zip code they give has 4 digits (1003). Zip codes in the US are 5 digits.
4. I researched Bingo Lotto, the North America International Lottery Program, Mikelson Financial Management Group and Bingo Trust Corporation on the internet and couldn't find any of them to be legitimate. In researching the North America International Lottery Program I found numerous scam notices of the very same scam in Europe back in 2003 and 2004. I'm referred to a Lotto held in New York, the check is from a tire company and bank in Pennsylvania, and my prize agent is in Ontario. It has scam written all over it.
Anyone receiving something like this should research it through the web first. It's quick and easy and you find great sites like this one to post the scam and read postings noting the same. I saved myself alot of financial heartache.