Legal Question in Consumer Law in Florida

what are my rights when i receive a check in the mail

I received a check for $1894.00 with a letter saying I won $50,000 as an unclaimed jackpot drawing. Supposedly, according to posts on Yahoo the checks are cashable and will clear. The next thing I read on Yahoo is they will ask us after the funds are available..to send them back that amount for taxes and then we are mailed a certified check for $48k. They will wait for the funds to clear. Now obviously if it is a similar scam to past scams reported, they will get our good funds IF we remit it. What can happen if we don't? People keep talking about well later in weeks the bank will come back and say it was no good or something and you will be responsible for fraud. I don;t understand that. I called the bank it is drawn on and they said that is wrong. If US Bank pays our bank, it is our funds to keep. They would never come back and take it away. I need legal talk on this please. We have signed nothing committing us to anything, we have given NO personal information. What is up and what should we do? Can they be sued for the 50k if they don't produce it? It clearly says we won it.


Asked on 5/12/09, 10:16 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Angelo Marino Angelo Marino Jr. PA

Re: what are my rights when i receive a check in the mail

Common sense needs to be used here and some critical thinking. The lure of 50K is great. But when something sounds too good to be true, extraordinary caution must be taken. First, check out the company by doing a google search. If it is out of the US, that is a dead ringer that fraud may be involved. Call then, check them out. Second, how much of the taxes do they want to take out? If more than the $1894, then it smells. Finally, ask yourself why they have to take out the taxes? It is your tax debt not theirs. see www.ConsumerLawyerHelp.com for some links that may help you.

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Answered on 5/12/09, 10:43 am
Alan Wagner Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore P.A.

Re: what are my rights when i receive a check in the mail

This sounds like a scam, but I would need to read the paperwork to make sure. They do not have a tax likability, so the -- send me some money for the taxes sounds bogus.

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Answered on 5/12/09, 2:13 pm


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