Award Payments Reports, P. O. Box 9035 Jericho, NYAward Payments Reports Offered a Payoff of $1,400,000 in exchange for $19.99 processing fee Jericho New York

I received a letter with an attached document stating that I had won 1.4 million dollars, allegedly from my participation in a national promotion. I noted no specifics on what national promotion, along with no phone number, no web site, and several misspellings or bad grammar used within the document. I took the liberty of checking it out on the web and when I entered its address, found that some one else had been taken by this type of mailing for the same fee of $19.99. I got wise the last time I was scammed. I didn't fall for this one. I write this to advise all persons who may see this report that any time they get a mailing or an email advising them that they have won any sum of money, look for the following:

1. A verifiable street address;
2. A telephone number that connects you to a real person;
3. A web site that can be accessed and that is supported by the Better Business Bureau;
4. Look for misspellings - all professional letters will not contain spelling errors, or on the off chance that one does slip through, not more than one;
5. Grammar - no professional letter will use any kind of grammar that sounds foreign. For instance, in the letter I received, the following is quoted: "-You are Known HOLDER of..." it should have read "the known holder of:" or "you are now being proceeded for the completion..." when it should have read, " you are now being processed for the completion;"
6. Whether or not they will take a credit card - most of these scams want cash because they can't process a credit card without identifying themselves. There are exceptions, but when all of the other foregoing or some of them are present, then whether or not they take a credit card becomes moot;
7. Always check out the company on the web, either by name, return address, or both. I discovered this scam by address. If any complaints have been made, belive me, someone will have complained about it somewhere, and it will show up on the 'net.

I hope this will help someone avoid being scammed or ripped off from their hard earned dollars.

Pookiebear
Port St. Lucie, Florida
U.S.A.