Erika won a trip to Rome.
Seriously, she did. She entered a contest and won the grand prize.
You know what sucks? Instead of being elated at the thought of a free trip, I immediately thought, "Okay...so...what's the catch? We have to sit through a timeshare sales pitch? Is this just a scam from some very creative identity thieves? Do we have to provide transportation to Rome ourselves? Are we going to have to pay thousands of dollars in taxes to claim our prize?"
Why am I such a suspicio-phile? Well, for a couple of reasons. First of all, Erika had her identity stolen about a year ago, and I had my credit card info stolen a week ago. Neither ended up costing us a thing (thank you banks for protecting against fraud -- we crapped all over you about lending practices and the bailout bonuses etc., but when we really need your help, you're usually pretty cool). Also, when we went to the Wedding Expo two years ago, we signed every single contest entry form we could...and we got calls for the next month from telemarketers who told us "we won a trip to______! All we needed to do to claim our prize was attend a brief meeting in Renton..." at which point I'd hang up.
Scams always start out with a "too good to be true" scenario...which is why, when something that actually is too good to be true comes along I'm suspicious (instead of psyched).
So after speaking with the woman over the phone (and being on the cusp of hanging up because she was suspicious that it was a telemarketer) Erika received an e-mail from a bona-fide employee of Los Angeles Magazine (verified via several online sources) detailing the prize, and containing a Word document affidavit to be filled out and sent back within 5 days (or the prize is forfeit). All right. So far so good.
Line # three of the affidavit? "Social Security Number."
Uh oh.
Why would they need that?
Is this a normal thing?
We're not signing up for a credit card, just claiming a prize.
So we're just supposed to fax her social security number to some random fax machine?
What's with the five day deadline?
Are they just trying to scare us into sending it right away? Keep us from verifying the source?
Am I just being super-paranoid?
So, maybe you all could help me. I desperately want to believe this is the real deal, and so far, the SSN requirement is the only thing buggering me up at the moment. I found the identical contest prize offered on the MSN New Zealand website. Same prizes and everything. The SSN thing has freaked me out a bit.
But other than that, I can't possibly fathom how this could be a scam. They already had Erika's information when they called. And it wasn't an "unlisted number" that showed on the caller ID -- it was a local 323 number (same area code as the LAMagazine offices). And the contest came from a full-page ad in Los Angeles Magazine (Erika found the original advertisement), a credible publication that would probably never allow a phishing advertisement to be published (for fear of a lawsuit). And the three people CC'd in the prize e-mail are all actual Los Angeles Magazine employees. And Erika is invited to a VIP screening of Angels & Demons at Sony Studios tomorrow. And if they're going to steal an ID, why target an actress who made less than $15,000 last year?
I mean, if this is a scam, these people put a hell of a lot of work into getting Erika's social security number, from fake LinkedIn profiles, to rerouted official LAMagazine e-mail addresses, to getting tickets to a VIP movie premier...I say, hell, if they put that much effort into getting a silly SSN, they can frigging have it.
But, you see what I mean? Used to be someone would win a "major award" and they'd receive a lamp shaped like a leg in the mail, open it, and show the whole damn world what they won. If that were to happen nowadays, the winner would have the crate x-rayed before opening to check for nail bombs, then they would make sure they weren't getting billed for just opening the crate (the old Columbia House scam), then they'd make sure that shipping was already paid for (so they didn't accidentally accrue COD charges), then they'd go over the "rules and restrictions" with a fine toothed comb before cracking the crate displaying the leg lamp for the entire neighborhood.
Scam artists have ruined the good ol' "jump around and scream after you've won a prize" feeling. That really bites. But...maybe a free trip to Rome will temper that temporary feeling of doubt...maybe.
Seriously, she did. She entered a contest and won the grand prize.
You know what sucks? Instead of being elated at the thought of a free trip, I immediately thought, "Okay...so...what's the catch? We have to sit through a timeshare sales pitch? Is this just a scam from some very creative identity thieves? Do we have to provide transportation to Rome ourselves? Are we going to have to pay thousands of dollars in taxes to claim our prize?"
Why am I such a suspicio-phile? Well, for a couple of reasons. First of all, Erika had her identity stolen about a year ago, and I had my credit card info stolen a week ago. Neither ended up costing us a thing (thank you banks for protecting against fraud -- we crapped all over you about lending practices and the bailout bonuses etc., but when we really need your help, you're usually pretty cool). Also, when we went to the Wedding Expo two years ago, we signed every single contest entry form we could...and we got calls for the next month from telemarketers who told us "we won a trip to______! All we needed to do to claim our prize was attend a brief meeting in Renton..." at which point I'd hang up.
Scams always start out with a "too good to be true" scenario...which is why, when something that actually is too good to be true comes along I'm suspicious (instead of psyched).
So after speaking with the woman over the phone (and being on the cusp of hanging up because she was suspicious that it was a telemarketer) Erika received an e-mail from a bona-fide employee of Los Angeles Magazine (verified via several online sources) detailing the prize, and containing a Word document affidavit to be filled out and sent back within 5 days (or the prize is forfeit). All right. So far so good.
Line # three of the affidavit? "Social Security Number."
Uh oh.
Why would they need that?
Is this a normal thing?
We're not signing up for a credit card, just claiming a prize.
So we're just supposed to fax her social security number to some random fax machine?
What's with the five day deadline?
Are they just trying to scare us into sending it right away? Keep us from verifying the source?
Am I just being super-paranoid?
So, maybe you all could help me. I desperately want to believe this is the real deal, and so far, the SSN requirement is the only thing buggering me up at the moment. I found the identical contest prize offered on the MSN New Zealand website. Same prizes and everything. The SSN thing has freaked me out a bit.
But other than that, I can't possibly fathom how this could be a scam. They already had Erika's information when they called. And it wasn't an "unlisted number" that showed on the caller ID -- it was a local 323 number (same area code as the LAMagazine offices). And the contest came from a full-page ad in Los Angeles Magazine (Erika found the original advertisement), a credible publication that would probably never allow a phishing advertisement to be published (for fear of a lawsuit). And the three people CC'd in the prize e-mail are all actual Los Angeles Magazine employees. And Erika is invited to a VIP screening of Angels & Demons at Sony Studios tomorrow. And if they're going to steal an ID, why target an actress who made less than $15,000 last year?
I mean, if this is a scam, these people put a hell of a lot of work into getting Erika's social security number, from fake LinkedIn profiles, to rerouted official LAMagazine e-mail addresses, to getting tickets to a VIP movie premier...I say, hell, if they put that much effort into getting a silly SSN, they can frigging have it.
But, you see what I mean? Used to be someone would win a "major award" and they'd receive a lamp shaped like a leg in the mail, open it, and show the whole damn world what they won. If that were to happen nowadays, the winner would have the crate x-rayed before opening to check for nail bombs, then they would make sure they weren't getting billed for just opening the crate (the old Columbia House scam), then they'd make sure that shipping was already paid for (so they didn't accidentally accrue COD charges), then they'd go over the "rules and restrictions" with a fine toothed comb before cracking the crate displaying the leg lamp for the entire neighborhood.
Scam artists have ruined the good ol' "jump around and scream after you've won a prize" feeling. That really bites. But...maybe a free trip to Rome will temper that temporary feeling of doubt...maybe.
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