202-580-8442

A man by the name of Sam Parker says he is calling from the U.S. Gov't Grant Management Office and I have been chosen to receive a $10,000 grant.
He is very good at trying to convince me that I have been chosen and this is the 2nd call I have received from him. The only thing is: they want you to deposit a $199 security deposit for verification of grant. Sounds too fishy to me. He sounds to have an Indian accent or middle-eastern although when I asked, he replied he was from Mexico. Hmmm. I heard an office full in the background with same accent also. All sounds too strange

my wife recived a call from this number and was told that she qualified for a $6000 dollar grant but she needed to pay $199 to verify the grant.  everyone i spoke to had a indian accent but gave common american names like sam parker and ralph sampson. it sounded very funny so i searched the phone number and found other people who did the same.  he told one person he was from mexico but when i asked him he was from london.  he also said my wife qualified because of the taxes she pays.  she has been a stay at home mom since age 18 and does not pay any taxes.  this is deffinately a scam so don't fall for it.

First a lady called me, also with an Indian accent, then said in ten minutes another person will call me. The person turned out to be a Sam Lawson, sounded very Indian, middle-eastern. Was hesitant that i wire $199 through western union. Just sounds too odd for a GOV. agency to ask for money to send you back thousands. Why don't they just deduct it from the money you're due?

A man called from this number and asked if I were Hazel Simpson, I said no that is my mother but she passed away last august, is there anything i can help u with, he said well hazel qualifieis for a 4000$ grant for paying taxes last year and i said really he said yes he said that since she had passed away that, I, her son qualified for it because of her passing, i said sure send it to me. he said it will be in the mail look for it in three days, but that I needed to give them 199$ that is totally refundable when i recieved the grant and it was deposited. he said take down my info i did and it is U.S. Grants 200 independence ave, S.W. HHH Building Washinton, D.C. 20201. 202-580-8442 and his name was Justin Brooks. i told him to let me think about it and he could call me back in 3 days at 2 he also sounded like a foreigner from india somewhere like that. i knew it was a scam and have researched it well. THIS IIS A BIG SCAM!!! AVOID THIS SCAM!!!!!!

The phone number you mention, 202-580-8442, shows up in this press release for "www.e-junkie.com" (via www.swiftcd.com):

http://www.swiftcd.com/PressRelease.asp?PressId=100306

Even if this phone number USED to be assigned to this company, it shows that the number IS NOT a government phone number.  It's a PRIVATE number.

Looking this number up at www.411.com indicates that it's a CELL PHONE.  What government agency gives away grants via a CELL PHONE?  None that I know of.

There's no reason why you should have to pay an up-front "fee" to get a grant anyway.  Why not just take the "fee" from the grant?

So NEVER SEND MONEY IN ADVANCE for promised riches.  That's the oldest scam on Earth.  It works because people are greedy by nature.

If it's too good to be true, IT IS!

Never wire money via Western Union or any other wire service to someone you do not know.  There is NO WAY to find out who picked up the money.  You never want to use it to pay a debt.  It's for emergencies when you need to send money quickly to someone you know WELL!

This is hilarious because th same situation has happened to me. They called me about a week ago, the indian girl, telling me I have $7,000 grant check for me but I need to deposit $199for whatever reason. I wanted to try and believe it because my family and I desperately needed the money. So for that I didn't catch their flaws until yesterday. They called me by my Maiden name and in which I know I didn't apply for any grant money when I wasn't married. Then I also tried pointing out to the guy that I never did my taxes when I wasn't married because of no work or barely any money to do, but noo he says it doesn't matter, that no matter what I paid taxes and blah blah blah. Then I tried to point out that no office that I have ever been contacted with (government related or anything of the officey sort) has ever addressed me as "darling" and "sweetheart". I asked him if I could talk to somebody else that I havn't talked to already( I've talked to these people throughout the week). He said "yes I'll have someone else call you in a little bit" I grabbed his so called name "Sam Parker" and that exact number. The phone hasn't rung yet and still waiting. I dont' think they'll call back.

Oh forgot to mention when the girl called me today, I told her that no matter what kind of grant, you don't pay any money towards the government because it's free money. Then she gave me an attitude and told me that if I wanted to cancel my "application", then just say it to her..I know that I never did an application (and yet automatically it was done without my consent)

avoid scams - don't just complain about them - the internet is the tool that protects you from scams.  YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO LOOK FOR IT

GRANT INFO IS FREE - APPLYING FOR A GRANT IS FREE

FROM CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM - they also have more articles about grant scams
Government Grant Scams
The "free money" scam has been around almost as long as the human species. It has more variations than a bulldog has wrinkles but you can count on one thing: the government (any government) does not simply give money away to individuals.
Anyone who tells you differently has larceny in his heart. If you give him your bank account number, he will soon have your funds in his pocket.
It does no good to list all of the names used by these bunko artists because a.) they change all the time and b.) every single free-money government-grant offer is a scam. Period.

FROM THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSIONS WEBSITE
Grant Scams http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt134.shtm
excerpt from link
Don’t pay any money for a “free” government grant. If you have to pay money to claim a “free” government grant, it isn’t really free. A real government agency won’t ask you to pay a processing fee for a grant that you have already been awarded — or to pay for a list of grant-making institutions. The names of agencies and foundations that award grants are available for free at any public library or on the Internet. The only official access point for all federal grant-making agencies is www.grants.gov.

I received the same call from Raja Williams, also with a mid eastern accent.  My grant was for $8,000 only after sending $199.  When transferred to the "verification department" the man I spoke to was named Andy Erickson from London.  He also had a very heavy mid east accent.
This is a scam.

Called today telling me I would $8500 I just needed to pay $200 which was refundable. The callers name was Janet Mcneal she had sounded Indian.

Oh wow..wish i had read all this before...I got scammed yesterday by a someone who sounds indian..said his name was Rick Johnson and he was from the government and that I was to receive $5000 in grant money...but I had to go to Western Union and send/deposit $300 for the processing fee...wanted me to send the money to India...he stayed on the phone with me and everything...but of coarse when I'm waiting to receive my confirmation #..they are experiencing technical difficulties and I have to wait until the next day..so they got me for $300...they just called me back today saying my grant money doubled to $11,600 for my inconvenience the other day..but they asked me to make another deposit of $600 because it would be a bigger processing fee...told him i had nothing left and he insisted I come up with the money...ITS A SCAM!!..I should have went with my first instincts...these people are good and very convincing so be careful..they had contacted me months before so I thought maybe I really did have a grant lol...fooled me once..wont let it happen again...its situations like these that make us not trust our Government..we don't know if its really them contacting you lol.

i got a call from the same no...
but guess wht ...i recieved ma grant money..
it was $$8200..
i am really happy and spending tht money...
and i hav also deposited 199$$...which were refunded back to me..
wow...
i don knw y all the above persons sayzz itzz a scam..
its totally true..

Don't listen to Mr. Lawrence above me. He's either just screwing around out of boredom or he's one of the scammers who decided to google their own scam in order to play the part of the "contestant winner".

I just got a call from the same people and spoke with a guy named Roger Sanders. He told me I had a grant for $6000 for paying taxes and asked where there was a western union in my area...he never told me his name until I asked and when he said Roger Williams I looked at my husband and started laughing. His accent was so thick he couldn't hardly speak basic English let alone proper..he asked why i was laughing, i said no reason so got all his info..phone #:202-470-2607, same HHH building in D.C. he said someone would call me tomorrow for confirmation. I called the police and just filed a report b/c I know this is a scam. I may be young, but I'm not dumb.  =}

I received a solicitation today, my third in 5 days, from the 'Government Grant Office' offering $7,000 in free grant money.

I called the local FBI field office and was instructed to file a complaint at:

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

It's the Internet crime unit but it also apparently covers phone crime. At the end of the form, you have the option of choosing telephone as the means of solicitation.

Got a call today from Andy Erickson. When I asked him if he thought it was odd that he had a middle eastern accent and an American name he assured me that it was possible. I never actually made it into all the money transfer details because I googled 4,000 dollar grant phone fraud and found this site!
They actually had my mothers name and when they were told that I was her daughter and then refused to give them her phone number they said, oh we will send the money to you and you can give it to her as a gift. I'm thinking this does not sound like our government at all.
I'm actually going to contact my local news station and see about getting a message out there. There was no possible way to fraud me. My phone is in my mom's name but she doesn't use my address, I havn't worked in about three years, and I'm not a student. I could see how they might be able to con others so I will warn as many as I can!

Same deal! Only I was told I had been granted $20,000 for being senior, woman and small business.  This guy's name was David Baxter ... LOL ... with an Indian acent.  You could hear others in the background doing the same spill.  What is scarry .... he had my address .... phone number .... and knows my age as I am a senior ... !!!!!  He wanted me to go TODAY! to western union.  I just let him go on and on .... but said I could not get to it until tomorrow .... so he is going to call me tomorrow to "remind" me.  Oh, I am to do it by cash, check or debit or credit card.  Cash ... he has got my $199 ....  Check he has my bank information .... Debit or credit card ... he would be get into those.  Sad what the world is coming to .... Money is the Rule of Evil .... I pray for any who get this call that they will be wise and check it out!

I just got a call from these guys - having been very experienced with Nigerian scammers in email, I decided to have some fun with him...I got him irritated enough that he admitted to being in India, and that he does this for a living there, and claims to make good money at it.  In this case he was using 202-470-3229 for his phone #, "Roger Williams" as his name, and the same 200 Independence ave addr.  Based on the dates of all the messages here, these folks have been at this scam for quite some time!  But come on folks -- anytime someone asks you to Western Union money - it's a scam.

They have this down to an art!  I first received a call from Eric Munsion, and I had to call back at which time I spoke with either Lee or Ray Gibson, all in Chicago calling from an unknown number, but with a return number to (773) 877-3561, and I told them that I did not believe them, and they conferenced me with what was supposed to be the "DC" office and we talked with Sam Lawson.  I told them that I could just run right over and pick up my money since they were at 200 Independence ave.  They said no, and that they had to follow the proper procedure.  I asked why they couldn't just deduct the $199. from the $4500 that I was supposed to receive from overpaying my taxes (LOL).  They said that they had to verify that I was who I say I am.  I'm like, you called me.  So I was like...OK well give me your website, and they gave me the site for usagovgrants.org. with no verifying information, of course.  So, I'm still not convinced,  So I say "Give me the number for your DC office, and I will verify that you are who you say you are; and once again I spoke with Sam Lawson, and he instructed me to call the Chicago caller back when I arrived at Western Union.  Oh, and If I had any problems to call him back at (202) 470 3229.  I was just going to let this ride, but hard as my money is to come by sometimes.  I wanted to let everyone in world know what just almost happened to me


I should call him back and tell him that I have a real problem with somebody tryin' to take my hard earned dime!

Got a call from 202 580 8490 wanting to give me a Government Grant. Very abusive and treatning. Officer George Stephen .. obviously fake.