Please note: TaxFree Shopping, Ltd. is a valid business that has been victimized in this scam.
If it looks too good to be true…
Just after I wrote about Jeff Kreisler’s book Get Rich Cheating, I received a piece of air mail yesterday telling me I had won a bunch of money. Supposedly it came from TaxFree Shopping, Ltd. based in Addison, Texas. Everything about it screamed SCAM!
First, it told me that I had won $150,000 in a “Consumer Promotion Draw organized for all customers of the major stores in U.S.A., Canada and United Kingdom e.g.: Wal-Mart, Sears, Home Depot, Safeway, H.E.B., Sainsbury, Dell, HP, Dillard’s, Teco [probably meant Tesco as there is no store named Teco anywhere], Marriott and Recreational Equipment Inc.”
I knew it was a scam. Everything about it said scam, except…it had what looked like a real live check drawn off a JPMorgan Chase Bank account. The check, of course, was the scammiest part. This is what it told me to do:
Enclosed is a check of $3800.00 USD which is for your tax payment of $2950.00 USD, for Non-Resident Government Tax, payable to the British tax officer as stated below:
Tax Officer: Teresa Melvin
56 Oxford Street
WC 12 PD London
United KingdomTax Amount: $2950.00
Payment Methods: Moneygram International or Western Union Money Transfer
Everything about the check seemed real. It had perforations, was signed by hand, had watermarks and was drawn off a major bank. TaxFree Shopping, Ltd. is a Better Business Bureau A+ accredited company. The problem: the check was no good.
I went to a Chase bank this morning knowing full well what to expect: nothing. I brought with it the letter and envelope. At first, the teller was unhelpful when I asked.
“We can’t give out that information, sir,” she said.
“You can’t tell me if the check is good? It’s drawn off your bank.”
“No, sir, we can’t give out that information.”
“Okay, then let me cash it.”
“It’s over the amount we are allowed to cash.”
“Please get your manager. I’d rather you tell me that the check is not good then for me to try to cash it at my bank and get the bounced check fee.”
The bank manager was more helpful (why do these things always have to come down to ‘let me speak to your manager’…sigh) The manager confirmed that the check was fake, and that they had seen this before.
How the scam works
Apparently, the scam works this way: Doofus gets a check and instead of investigating it on their own, calls the numbers listed for TaxFree Shopping, Ltd. (on the letter it says to call Richard Patton “for advice on how to claim your winning” and gives the telephone numbers 1-866-213-8778 or 1-866-213-5993). Doofus wires the $2950.00 and instead of being richer, now is out $2950.00 and additional bounced check fees.
It’s hard to imagine anyone falling for this because it is so easy to discover, but I guess there’s a sucker born every minute. The seemingly live check signed by hand on a major bank was enough to have me take ten minutes out of my morning to investigate.
What perplexed me was my own thinking. I had recently bought a 23 inch HP flat screen monitor, and wondered if I had filled out on-the-fly some sweepstakes (I don’t usually, but sometimes I do). Regardless, my brain told me the $150,000.00 was a scam, but here I had a check in my hand for $3,800. If the $3800 was valid, I might have followed-up about the $150K (which the letter, dated September 18th, had told me was not good after 20 days. Somehow it took this letter 20 days to get to my mailbox).
Chase bank confiscated the phony check, and my slight notions of a possible Spanish vacation evaporated as I left the bank and thanked the manager for her help.
TaxFree Shopping, Ltd. is a victim
I spoke with Ben Petty, the managing partner of TFS, Ltd., and he confirmed that this has been going on for awhile. Apparently some guy up in Massachusetts was taken for about $10,000. The perpetrators are out of–surprise!–Nigeria and the Secret Service is not able to do anything about it.
They are actually using the real account information for this company, and it has caused havoc for its business. The check that I received is the fourth generation of the scam. The Nigerians are hiring people through Craigslist looking for “check processors”, and then they tell them to go to Office Depot and buy check-writing supplies and check-printing software. Some people actually do it.
Mr. Petty has been fielding many phone calls from distraught and disappointed senior citizens.
Don’t work for this scam. Don’t cash the check. Don’t call the number. Don’t send the money, or you will end up a fool.
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Wow, that’s one of the prettiest scams I’ve seen… The hand-signed checked is a winner…
Twitter: davidshankbone
says:
Those Nigerians are getting more and more clever… They must have run out of princes!
I recv’d a check from Trinity Universal Insurance Company in Dallas Texas. It is the same information as the TaxFree Shopping. I called the 866 number on the letter and was told by a middle eastern male to go to my bank and deposit it and then call him back in the morning. I went to my bank and was immediatley told it was a scam. I googled the Trinity Universal Insurance Company and couldn’t find one with the address on the letterhead. My next step was going to a JP Morgan Chase Bank to try and cash it but I don’t have to now after reading the above THANK YOU SO MUCH. and I must agree that there is a sucker born every minute but NOT THIS SUCKER
they are still at it ;texas pioneer mutual insurance association 209 west main avenue round rock ,tx 78664-5827 is the adress on the check jp morgan chase bank round rock tx 78750 acct 0202132 111000614 880605369265 tax officer marie boston 56 oxford street wc 12 pd london united kingdom mr richard patton 18664077810 or18668830685 signed by lenox cole when i copied the check and letter with kodak photo printer the words void showed on the copy of the check THANK YOU KODAK NO SUCKER HERE EITHER
My mother got one of these letters today. It is a good thing she is smart and knew it was a scam right away.
They are now using LandAmerica Austin Title Company checks, awful situation for this company to be in. The new “tax Officer” is Sharon Norman, 56 Oxford Street, WC 12 PD London, United Kingdom. Claim Agent: Mr. Bryant Duran ph 866-399-6698 or 866-472-7542. Lenox Cole signed the letter but a different signature on the check, and yes a copy of the check reveals void across the front. thanks for this site.
Twitter: davidshankbone
says:
Thanks everyone. I only wrote this post because when I Googled for information, I couldn’t find anything about the scam, so I think you all are helping other people by updating changes in the scam. It makes the scam Google-able; whereas when I looked for TaxFree Shopping, I only found it seemed like a legit business and not any evidence of the ruse.
I received the same letter. I filed a complaint with USPS Mail Fraud. My letter was from Texas Pioneer Insurance, which looks to be an actual company, but I don’t believe they are involved. I too received a hand written check. So real, that I thought it best to report it. I’m sure an elderly person might not be so quick to think fraud. Let’s hope they figure out a way to stop these crooks.
I received a check yesterday from Wachovia Bank with PENN state in the top left hand corner. The letter with it is from Tampa Green Consultants in Florida with no return address and a stamp and postmark from Canada. Check amount $3,980, tax amount on alleged $125,000 winnings $2980. Funny how the tax amount on my $125,000 is more than the tax amount on your alleged $150,000 winnings! Uncanny how real the check looks. The differences are that mine has a stamped signature, not hand-written, and the phone number is not 1-866, it has a 416 area code (Canada.) I’m tempted to call from a pay phone, just to see what they tell me my next step should be.