Watch Out! Rip-Off !
By Darkwing
@Darkwing (21583)
February 16, 2008 7:35am CST
This morning, in the post, I received a very official looking form from Capital Distribution Group, in Toronto, Canada, telling me I was the "Confirmed & Secured" winner of a £9,000.00 certified cheque which was being held on deposit by this so-called company, awaiting my release claim. The letter bore a photographed signature, from Sandy Peterson, Payments Officer of the Group. My immediate reaction was to "bin" this letter, as I have so many times before, but then I thought I would read on, on this occasion to see what the "forfeit" was, and subsequently check out this "company" online.
I read on... Oh, hoh, yup, in order to claim and activate release of the cheque, I needed to complete the form, which gave me a choice of receiving the money by "Lump Sum Certified Cheque" or "Direct Deposit Into My Personal Account". Ok, tick tick, goes the mind... how do they deposit into your personal account? Yup, you got it... they need your Bank Details. Then comes the "Processing/Delivery Fee, payable to (CDG) Capital Distribution Group, which has to be paid by "Cash", "Cheque", "Postal Order", "VISA", or "Mastercard". Not only that, you have to sign the form and if using a credit card, put in your security code (CVV2). Yeah, right, I'm as green as the cabbage in my fridge. I don't think so, CDG!!! Now comes the scam... £19.95 release payment! How many people have been caught out with this, I thought. So, I check it out on the computer, typing the company name in the search box.
Brrrrinnnnnnnnnnnng!!!! Alarm Bells ring! The word Ripoff appears, in bright red. Now, it seems only two people have reported this company's scam, and I'm about to take third spot, online. It makes my blood boil that innocent people can be conned into paying this company £19.95 in the hope of being paid £9,000... yes, each time, it's £9,000. Not only that, they're giving this cretin their bank details. So who knows what sort of money they're being conned out of?Ok... gripe over. I just wanted you all to realise that all these lovely letters we receive, saying that we've won vast amounts of money, and requesting a "release fee", are FAKE! Bin them!!! You're being taken for a ride. Oh, and the same thing happens online. Never, EVER, assume that ANY advice sent in ordinary e-mail, is genuine. Any reputable finance company will contact you through your website, which should be a secure site. Don't even open the ordinary e-mails, however genuine and official they look... delete them, and count your lucky stars! They're all Pfishing Scams. Three prime examples of scam e-mails I receive daily are, NatWest Bank, E-Bay and Paypal. Fake! fake! fake!
It's time we made a stand against these "Thieves". So please, all of you, protect your hard-earned money and help all your friends to protect theirs. Delete, bin, and report!Here is one of the links to a Ripoff Report on CDG. See for yourself.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/303/RipOff0303079.htm
Be safe, Mylot Friends!
5 people like this
12 responses
@goldeneagle (6745)
• United States
16 Feb 08
I work in a bank, and we saw some checks similar to these a few months ago. People were being informed that they had won a Canadian lottery. My first step in exposing this hoax was to ask them if they had ever been to Canada, to which they ALL replied NO...so I asked them how they won the Canadian lottery if they have never been to Canada to get a ticket...so we put the check into their accounts with holds on the funds, and ran them through the FED...sure enough they were scams...we notified the local Sheriff's office...but that is the last I heard of it...
3 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
16 Feb 08
Well done... I have just submitted my Ripoff Report, and will know in a few hours, the link for it. I will post it here for everybody to see, as I intend to submit scans of the letter and form I received. My blood is still boiling!!! :)
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your support in this. Who better than banks to make a stand against these fake companies?
1 person likes this
@goldeneagle (6745)
• United States
13 Mar 08
thanks for the best reply nomination....
1 person likes this
@catjane (1036)
• United States
16 Feb 08
This goes on everyone to everyone in email and snail mail. I have received it all. The thing is, if it sounds to good to be true, it prolly is! I wish they could stop these idiots who think we are that stupid to fall for their scams, especially now that most people know they are scams! Thanks for the heads-up!
@Darkwing (21583)
•
16 Feb 08
You're welcome. Yes, I know it goes on a lot, and when we use the computer often, we're aware of it and can usually recognise the scams. But, my main worry are the elderly, and those who can't afford a computer, and therefore, don't have the facility to check, like we do. I do wish there was something more I could do, but short of a soap box in Hyde Park Corner, I don't know what! If all Mylotters spread the word to the elderly people in their circle and those whom they think might be fooled for one reason or another, it will help tremendously.
Thank you for your input and Brightest Blessings.
1 person likes this
@catjane (1036)
• United States
16 Feb 08
Sweety I am the elderly LOL and at this age I am pretty wise and most of us are pretty smart. Why would you think the elderly don't have computers? My father-in law is 79 and is computer literate. He would be the last one to fall for those scams. You must be very young, but it's nice of you to want to take care of us old folks lol....thanks hon!
2 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
16 Feb 08
No, I'm not that young, as it happens. ha ha ha. Would I be right to guess you're not in the UK, where I can assure you, not many elderly people have computers... they plain can't afford them, much less know how to operate them. My Mum is scared stiff of them! lol.
It's good though that your Father and you, yourself, whom I don't believe can be categorised as elderly, is computer literate and wised up as to these scams.
1 person likes this
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
18 Feb 08
Well I used to get Letters like that and I might be blond but I know that you do not win money or anything unless you have entered something and I never do
I have heard from many People about this Letters and Emails and I even got the Lotto one which of course went straight to spam
Why can't these People be stopped??
I am glad that you have your Head in the right place to and did not fall for this
There are so many innocent People out there though that will fall for it and it is not fair
@Darkwing (21583)
•
19 Feb 08
Yes, there are lots of them about, for sure, and surprisingly enough, some people do fall for them, or aren't sure, so they "try out" sending their money, which of course, never gains them anything.
I just thought it was about time I actually did something, instead of just throwing it in the bin. As many of these companies as possible, need to be exposed, to protect others.
Brightest Blessings, love and hugs. xx
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
16 Feb 08
thanks for the warning I delete them all the time! I did a snail mail thing once think I paid a $39.00 for something thought was a real piano lololololol was a 3 inch toy piuano oh it played but I could have got it some where else for like a $1 never again did I fall for this!
2 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
17 Feb 08
Awwww... I'm sorry to hear you got caught out like that, my friend. The problem is, they probably made it look like a real piano, so it was still a scam of a sort. Looking on the bright side, at least you got something for your $39.00.
Brightest Blessings, love and hugs. xxx
1 person likes this
@lexus54 (3572)
• Singapore
16 Feb 08
This kind of scam mails have become so common and an almost everyday occurrence that it doesn't excite me anymore. In fact, it has become an annoyance and you can't shake them off because usually there is no unsubscribe feature. The best way to get rid of them is to ignore them completely, and not even try and respond to the emails. Trouble is so many such scams of similar nature are floating around, so when you get rid of one, you get another fresh one with a slightly different story. I have one email account where at least 90% of all the emails received are such scams about lottery/jackpot winnings, inheritences, emails selected for prizes and similar scams of such nature.
2 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
16 Feb 08
Yes, in fact, they come a great deal more than once a day. I counted 49 one day from Natwest Bank, lol. As if I was going to believe that one! Yes, the best way is just to ignore and delete, but what when the vulnerable, elderly people receive them in snail mail, or somebody who is really down and out on their luck? I see this as a dire invasion of privacy, and wish there was more I could do to stamp it out, but what? I feel so helpless.
Brightest Blessings.
1 person likes this
@lexus54 (3572)
• Singapore
16 Feb 08
That's why these mails keep coming. We are knowledgeable about these, so we find them stupid and annoying. But there are many desperate and ignorant people out there who become victims, so there's still good reason for scammers to keep doing this. All they need is for 1% of the people they send these to, to respond to them and take the bait.
2 people like this
@faith210 (11224)
• Philippines
17 Feb 08
Hi Darkwing! Those are always too good to be true. Never did trust them to be true. I have a friend who have received a letter congratulating her that she won thousands of dollars and all she has to do is provide them with bank details and her phone numbers where she can be contacted through fax and at the same time pay 5% of the total amount she will receive through bank before she can receive her winnings. They called her and was asking her to send the 5% of her supposedly winnings but she told them she does not have any money at all..After several more calls, they just stopped calling her. And thank you for sharing that link so I can send it to my friends too. Take care and have a nice day! :)
@Darkwing (21583)
•
17 Feb 08
Your friend was very lucky not to have her bank account cleared out, Faith, because that's the only reason they want your bank details and phone number.
They're despicable people, and I wouldn't trust ANY letter, mail or snail mail that required me to pay money to obtain a "prize".
Brightest Blessings.
1 person likes this
@Lindalinda (4111)
• Canada
16 Feb 08
You are smart and you saw right through this. What makes me deeply ashamed that these letters now come from Canada where I live. Please go to the website of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) They discuss how you can report fraud that comes from Canadian addresses.
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams/index_e.htm#1
I am really puzzled why people still give their social insurance number and or banking information. Just yesterday or the day before there was a post on Mylot. You could sign up somewhere and earn $ 25.00 but you needed to provide that information. A few people who contributed to the discussion actually said they would do that.
Like you, I am very angry when I see scams like the one you described. It is a new version of the Nigerian scam. Obviously it is very lucrative for the people who perpetuate it. Like the saying goes:"A new sucker is born every minute". Thank you for posting this.
2 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
17 Feb 08
I went to the website, and the reports are only welcome direct from Canadians. If I want to report something, I have to contact the International Police and they make an agreement with the CMP, and it goes through the channels. Still, it's a worthwhile exercise.
I saw the discussion of which you speak too. I'm afraid that with a promise like that, people will do anything for money. I fear they will get stung, and probably never receive their $25.00, but that will be a lesson learned, I guess.
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your input.
1 person likes this
@dlucia (208)
• United States
16 Feb 08
Anyone who has a mail address and email address gets these scams daily. Most people know about them, and the criminals from Nigeria are where they originate from. But now it's globally affected. I work for a title loan company and we get these fake checks coming to our branch trying to be cashed and we verify, verify and verify to find out they are fraud. Innocent people think they are real and we advise people daily of these scams. The scammers are now even posing as our American soldiers! Now that is just something I cannot believe is happening in our country. Like someone once said, instead of fighting terrorism in Iraq, LET'S FIGHT THE FINANCIAL TERRORISM IN NIGERIA AND WIPE THEM OUT INSTEAD!
2 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
16 Feb 08
Very strong words, but Hear! Hear! my friend. I am really concerned about vulnerable people who don't know any better than to take note of these scams, particularly the elderly who are really in need of some extra money.
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160883)
• United States
17 Feb 08
I report all of these fakes, as I would feel badly if the next guy fell for it. Thanks for the very detailed example of what the scams are and what to do about them.
1 person likes this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
17 Feb 08
You're quite welcome. Yes, I report all the online ones, at least once, but it doesn't seem to stop them coming, like the NatWest Bank one. That one comes several times a day, even now, and I reported it before Christmas.
As for the ones that come in the snail mail, I normally just bin them, but when I saw the sad story of that unmarried Mum, hoping to give her daughter a good Christmas, I saw red, and reported yesterday's.
Brightest Blessings.
1 person likes this
@mummymo (23706)
•
16 Feb 08
I have lost count of the number of these scams I have received by email but the one that really got to me was the one similar to this that my 83 year old Grandmother received through the post - that one made me angry! I put a load of cardboard into the reply paid envelope and sent it back to them but I wish I had known about this site before! Well done you for reporting these people who are so without conscience they can prey on those who are often the most vulnerable in society. They always seem to be based in a country different than the one they target - probably because they are safer from prosecution if they do it that way, it really is time that these kind of people were tracked down and locked up! Thanks for the link sweety and for taking this stand - plenty of people seem to have filed reports now! xxx
2 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
16 Feb 08
Yes, I have received many over the years and always binned them, but this morning, I thought "Heck, no... I'm going to check them out and expose them". As you say, it's the vulnerable people who suffer their greed and when I read the report about the single mother who lives in another village in my County of West Sussex, I was in tears. She had sent £19.95 of her small accumulation of money, to this so-called company, in order that she might give her little daugher a "Special Christmas", and did she? No, of course not, she was £19.95 short of giving her even the norm. So, that's when I saw red and decided to make a stand and report them. The more reports, the better, and the more likely they are to be punished for their deplorable actions. So, I filed the report. I'm waiting for the link for it, and will put it in here as soon as it appears, so that as many people know about it as possible.
Thank you for your contribution my dear friend, and Brightest Blessings for a great, trouble-free weekend. Love you. xxx
1 person likes this
@Foxfire1875 (2010)
•
13 Mar 08
Very well put Darkwing. 
I just automatically bin anything like that. You forgot about the e-mails asking you as a long lost relative to help release funds in usually Africa.
I'm so sick of these and I wish everybody had the sense to ignore and report them but they just try try again. There are still a lot of gullible people out there sadly.
I just automatically bin anything like that. You forgot about the e-mails asking you as a long lost relative to help release funds in usually Africa.
I'm so sick of these and I wish everybody had the sense to ignore and report them but they just try try again. There are still a lot of gullible people out there sadly.1 person likes this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
13 Mar 08
Thank you, my friend. Yes, there are a lot of those fund releasing ones about lately, and I believe most of the scams start in Africa, but other countries are following suit now. I would think it would take a massive clean up exercise to rid our e-mail of all of the scams. So, we have to take some responsibility on ourselves.
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution.
1 person likes this
