ScamVictimsUnited.com

Hey,
I recieved a check for $2,000 in the mail from a company called "atlantic lottery". Nothing else was in the envelope but from what I can tell, the check is real and it is from a wells fargo bank account. Anyone had this happen? What should I do? Thanks.

Dan
Did you buy a ticket for a lottery from Atlantic???? The checks received look very real and in some cases are from real accounts. The problem is that the checks are not written by the person who owns the account and if you cash it and use the money you will be responsible for paying it back as many on this site have found out. Were you expecting the check, as in did someone contact you by email or such? Best bet is to just destroy the check if you did not enter the lottery honestly.

i did not enter the lottery and know nothing about the company...I guess I will rip it up, thanks.

Well there you go, if you did not enter a lottery then how can you win it? good thinking to rip it up. Depositing it would only prove to get you into trouble with your bank when it comes back counterfeit.

Surprises me that there was no note with it instructing you to wire some or all of it back to the scammers though Hmmmm another ploy they are using.

Dan and Karyn
My thinking on this one is that maybe they are starting a new ploy. Sending checks out, obviously fake as in from someone's account as Lindsey Sisti received from strawberryphields, once this check clears they send another letter saying you will receive the rest of your winnings only you need to pay the fees. Only a thought on my part but a possibility in them getting your trust. Not sure how that all ended up with the other but just my cynical way of thinking with the way these scammers might work. Dan if possible you might try to contact the person who's account the check was written on or the bank and let them know you received the check. The scammers might be using this account as with other innocent people. I have read a few where the person was contacted and was not aware that checks were clearing their account that they had not written. I'm not sure how far you want to go in investigating but it might save this innocent person and others a lot of heartache if they knew their account was being used and the persons who cash the checks from criminal prosecution.
The checks I received were written on a major company and still took almost two months to come back to my bank as fraud. If the person whose account they are using isn't aware the checks will continue to be cashed and many people will suffer.
Good luck in whatever you decide to do and thank goodness you investigated before you took the check to your bank.

I have to agree, they may have been meeting more and more resistance from people when asked to forward fees, so they rolled it into sending the checks out to gain trust. Thinking that those who really need the money would be the quickest to cash them.

FYI the majority of the people that I have worked with concerning this and other scams turn out to be one of a few different groups

Elderly
Disabled
Single Parents
College Students

All of these group are on budgets and struggling financially from time to time.