876-842-7529

My mother received a series of calls from a Mr. Antonio Banks at this number.  He claimed to be an employee of Wells Fargo in Sun City, California.  He informed my mother that she'd won $25 million.  He strung her along on several calls and even offered to pay off two of her credit cards with bank checks, for which he provided routing numbers, account numbers, and check amounts so that she could post them.  Of course, they were returned Not Sufficient Funds.  After that, he tried to get her to pay money to receive "the package" that was being demanded by the IRS.  When she refused, the calls ended.

Don’t Be Fooled by Sweepstakes Scammers Posing as Federal Officials
Callers with Prize News Don’t Work for the FTC
Don’t be taken in by con artists who pose as government officials and claim consumers have won what turns out to be a bogus sweepstakes prize. Although these scammers say they represent the Federal Trade Commission or some other government agency, the FTC would never call consumers on behalf of sweepstakes programs, and consumers should never send money up front just because someone promises them a prize.

Crooks often take advantage of Internet technology to make it seem that they are calling from Washington, DC, or the consumer’s hometown. They could be calling from anywhere in the world.

To learn more about how to avoid this type of scam, go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt167.shtm.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2180

http://ftc.gov/opa/2009/09/govtscams.shtm