315-636-5214

it was a scam and they told me they were the federal government i just want my 370 dollars back and i will be fine please track these people its not ok to scam people like that.

Hi...did you get money from these people?

Please reply...these people called me and told me they were the government and had me send them $210. They are telling me to send $697.00 more. I want my money back. Please help me track these people. It's not ok to scam people like that.

If you're going to report here, can you please either name or describe "these people" and also discuss what your swindled funds were supposed to buy? Such details are very helpful to readers who follow.

Luckily commentors in a sister thread on "Who Calls Me" understand the function of these websites. They mostly talk about an advance fee scammer promising grant money. Variants of this hoax have been tried for many years, and it works on people who are too greedy and/or gullible to realize that, by definition, YOU DO NOT PAY FOR A GRANT!

The FTC has ben warning us away from these criminals for about as long as they've been calling, spamming, and texting for victims. Here are bits of the FTC alert from six years ago:

.... “money for nothing” grant offers usually are scams, whether you see them in your local paper or a national magazine, or hear about them on the phone. ... They lie about where they’re calling from, or they claim legitimacy using an official-sounding name like the “Federal Grants Administration.” ... they congratulate you on your eligibility, then ask for your checking account information so they can “deposit your grant directly into your account,” or cover a one-time “processing fee.” The caller may even reassure you that you can get a refund if you’re not satisfied. In fact, you’ll never see the grant they promise; they will disappear with your money."

Please mentally underline and bold that last phrase. You were probably asked to rush money overseas by wire transfer or with a prepaid swipe card. Scammers love those payment methods because you won't be refunded, your "buyer's remorse" and cries of foul play notwithstanding.

If you gave up your money to scamming strangers on the phone, they have won and you have lost. The most you will ever get is more phone calls and emails from their friends trying to "reload" you with more scams. Do report the incidents to the FTC and attorneys general, but don't expect to win your money back. Unless you can find the scammers domestically and can sue them successfully, you are eating the loss and hopefully will learn from that painful lesson to not be swayed again by a dubious offer.


further reading:
‘Free Government Grants’: Don’t Take Them For Grant-ed
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt134.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt134.pdf

Can we get our money back some how

I just got a call from this number.  The caller said he was calling from the United States Grants Department.  I told him there was no such thing, and that my number is on the do not call list and he needed to take my phone number off his list and never call me again.  He insisted that he was calling from a legitimate branch of the federal government and started into his spiel about that I had qualified for money.  I again told him there is no such agency and he needed to take my phone number off his call list.  He started talking loudly over me to continue with his spiel and to insist that he is calling from the United States Federal Government Grants Department.  I hung up at this point and blocked the number through my phone provider.

I've never had a solicitor/scam that was so insistent on sticking with their spiel even after I tell them that my number is on the do not call list.  Usually this will end the call.  

I was shocked when he continued despite the fact that I made it clear that I knew he was not calling from a legitimate company/branch of government and that this call constituted a scam.  Makes me think that these scammers are really bold and will go to greater lengths to scam people than many other scammers/solicitors will. Be smart and beware--don't be a sucker!!!

There using 315-636-5293 now for a number the call came from Otisco Valley Rd. NY

I just received a call saying I won $8,000 from a guy with a weird accent by the number ( 360-203-3295) and he gave me some information and told me to call 240-206-1985 to speak with a "Caroln Morency" and she told me I had to put down $110 and i would get it back added onto my $8,000. These people need to be caught and arrested !

I got a call saying my name has been selected for a free government grant frm a guy wit a accent said is name was jackson lee and gave me a grant # and a callback # and ask for Carol morency a little sceptical so never called the callback #

I got a call saying my name has been selected for a free government grant frm a guy wit a accent said is name was jackson lee and gave me a grant # and a callback # and ask for Carol morency a little sceptical so never called the callback #