Sweepstakes Scam? or not?? help.?

It's definately a scam. You won $58,000 for a sweepstakes that you didn't enter?! They gave you a check for $3385 with no strings attached?!

Check out this website and ask this same question on the scam forum and you'll get a large number of responses from people who know about scams like this. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/scambusters You don't have to become a registered member to ask a question. Many of the long-time members have tons of experience with various fraud and scam operations.

It's a common scam.

The check is either a forged check or on account that doesn't belong the scammers. If you try to cash the check it will APPEAR to cash. Within a day, the scammers will be begging you to forward money via Western Union to their "agent." They will alternately claim you are paying Canadian Revenue (a lie, Canada doesn't tax lottery winnings), the IRS (which doesn't accept Western Union, let alone payments to agents--all IRS payments are to the US Treasury) or customs or courier fees or processing or tax insurance. You stupidly send them the money (after all your bank appeared to credit your account). Weeks later, your bank calls and says you need to pay them back the $2800 you no longer have or be prosecuted for money laundering.

Oh yeah, you also $100 in NSF fees.

A LEGITIMATE lottery just withholds any and all fees from the winnings.

PS, people who have fallen for the scam are often told, the 2nd place winner refused their prize so it's been "awarded to them" as well, here's another check, send more money. This is a BILLION dollar a year scam.

Do they want your personal and/or banking info so they can give you the rest of the money? If so, it's a scam -- a version of the advance-fee fraud or the "Nigerian" scam.

If I'm right, that check is either a) a fake check that will be bounced when you try to deposit it or b) a real, stolen check (e.g. Real Company A made that check out to Payer B, the thieves stole the check, bleached out Payer B's name and wrote in yours.) You'll be able to deposit the check until Real Company A figures out where their money went and gets it back from your bank, which could take months. In the meantime, you've given a thief access to your bank account.

If they don't want any info from you upfront, I would still be suspicious. Verify as much info as you can from third parties (for example, find the name of the bank that the check is drawn on, Google the bank's phone number, and call them to verify funds and the name of the account it's drawn on.)

Call them. make sure the company giving you the check is legitimate and just do research on the person who signed the check.