New Scam-Not email or phone related.

Hi and welcome to Scamwarners

Like the posts above, dont cash the cheque as it is most likely fake, I will take a closer look shortly and see if I can dig anything up for you

Ok, after a small amount of research I came up with this Click Here and you will see other examples of the same scammer at work

The sites names look like they are a little dodgy to say the least, I will pass the information onto somebody who can check it out and deal with it for us, for the record here is the information about the site, created a couple of months ago and a 1 year registration, it doesn't look like they intend on sticking around.

WHOIS information for: findgrantpeople.net:

[whois.arcticnames.com]



Domain Name: findgrantpeople.net
Expiry Date: 2009-09-25
Update Date: 0000-00-00
Create Date: 2008-09-25
Registrar of Record: ARCTIC NAMES INC.

Registrant:
Cassie Jennings
Cassie Jennings
6116 43rd St W
Bradenton, FL, US
34210
Voice: +1.9417616250
Fax:
EMail: [email protected]

Administrative Contact:
Cassie Jennings
Cassie Jennings
6116 43rd St W
Bradenton, FL, US
34210
Voice: +1.9417616250
Fax:
EMail: [email protected]

Technical Contact:
Cassie Jennings
Cassie Jennings
6116 43rd St W
Bradenton, FL, US
34210
Voice: +1.9417616250
Fax:
EMail: [email protected]

Billing Contact:
Cassie Jennings
Cassie Jennings
6116 43rd St W
Bradenton, FL, US
34210
Voice: +1.9417616250
Fax:
EMail: [email protected]

Domain Name Servers
ns3.dm.egate.net
ns4.dm.egate.net

Registration Service Provider
Name: BudgetNames.CA Inc
URL: http://www.budgetnames.ca
EMAIL: [email protected]

The Data in the Arctic Names Registrar WHOIS database is provided to you by Arctic Names
for information purposes only, and may be used to assist you in obtaining
information about or related to a domain name's registration record.

Arctic Names makes this information available 'as is,' and does not guarantee its
accuracy.

By submitting a WHOIS query, you agree that you will use this data only for
lawful purposes and that, under no circumstances will you use this data to:
a) allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission by e-mail,
telephone, or facsimile of mass, unsolicited, commercial advertising or
solicitations to entities other than the data recipient's own existing
customers; or (b) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes that
send queries or data to the systems of any Registry Operator or
ICANN-Accredited registrar, except as reasonably necessary to register
domain names or modify existing registrations.

The compilation, repackaging, dissemination or other use of this Data is
expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Arctic Names.

Arctic Names reserves the right to terminate your access to the Arctic Names WHOIS
database in its sole discretion, including without limitation, for excessive
querying of the WHOIS database or for failure to otherwise abide by this
policy.

Arctic Names reserves the right to modify these terms at any time.

By submitting this query, you agree to abide by these terms.

NOTE: THE WHOIS DATABASE IS A CONTACT DATABASE ONLY. LACK OF A DOMAIN
RECORD DOES NOT SIGNIFY DOMAIN AVAILABILITY.

The previous advice stands, dont let your grandmother cash the check, take it to the local police complete with envelope and any letter included with it, if she has banked the check, then go to the bank and explain the situation, ignore any future correspondance with the people who sent it and they will eventually go away.

Feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

Lastly, thank you for posting the details, it may prevent somebody else from being scammed

My Grandmother received a cash grant check from Abraham Zadian. It was a check from Washington Mutual Bank the company name was Hummer & Smith International 18565 Soledad Canyon Rd., Canyon Country, CA 91351. They had a web address of "www.findgrantpeople.info" and "www.findgrantpeople.net"

After getting the opinion of one of our fake site killers, these sites have been confirmed as being fake and have been placed in the system to be shut down.

Thank you for posting them

Just adding
This site is where the real scamming starts www.thegranttree.com it is completely fake, they will not be sending you anything other than another fake cheque if you are lucky, notice they need their payment withing 5 days, this is to make sure that you dont have time to find out the cheque is fake

Just a quick update.

One of the site killers over at 419Eater still has these in his sights, although he tells me that grant fraud sites are difficult to close and some of the hosts are not being particularly co-operative.

Still, the email address at grantorgmail.com has been closed and the fake forwarding page at findgrantpeople.net has had its content suspended, even though the page itself is still active, (despite multiple reports).

The content at thegranttree.com has also been suspended by Freehostia, even though the main website is still there.

So that pretty well takes care of this set of websites.

If any come back, can someone post in this thread or PM me and I'll let the site killers know? Thanks

Please thank your friends for us George, they do a valuable job

thank you, people, for this site! i just received a similar letter with check which
smelled like a scam and i was actually digging for these peoples' phone number
in order to try to report them to the bbb. then i found your site instead. thanks!
my "check" is for $4,630, with promises of a nother one to follow once i
send my friendly grant broker (jim welch) $926 commission. the address on the
check is key services corp
P10760 memorial dr.
fort drum, ny. 13603. (i'm also wondering how key bank
feels about being used in this scam!) their e mail sites are www.FindGrantPeople.info
or www.FindGrantPeople.NET.

one peculiar sentence in my letter says

if you agree to these terms and conditions you may cash or deposit
your check now! check expires one month after date of issue on 11/07/08!
(but the check is dated feb. 4, 2009.)

hello, it's 2/14/09 now, so duh!


anyway, what a very rude thing to do to people who are already
struggling to get by, as are we, and i feel bad for all the people who aren't
quite as suspicious as we, who get screwed by this scam. i can't scan
the thing at the mo, but happy to provide any other info you might want
about it.

thanks again for being on this!

sandyrose.

Thank you for reporting this.

I am glad you were not scammed, you showed good sense to check and discover their mistakes.

I hope others will be as vigilant.

Please as soon as possible scan everything you can to us. The more info we have the better the chance of other potential victims seeing the info here and avoiding the scam too.

Please pat yourself on the back and also inform friends and neighbours to watch out for this scam.

well, thank u very much! i'm glad i found you on the way to checking
them out!
by the way, i was just working and thinking about that letter and
wanted to point out another part of it that was disturbing to me. i
mean besides the fact that they wanted to rip me off. when the
paragraph starts about why i was chosen for such a cash grant/rip off,
after the blah blah about my wonderful grant, one sentence says this:

"From your financial history, it looked like you were someone who could
use a little financial aid sandra and we enjoy helping people"(/ripping them
off). well, i never! i mean like many others i'm kinda a private person,
and who are these people saying they've seen my financial history etc>?
so then i was wondering, hmm! i wonder if these scam things also
end up at rich peoples' addresses who wouldn't even blink to spend
$9000, ya know? that line wouldn't exactly work in that case, so i'm
wondering if they manage to target people who actually could use help
(and couldn't we all unless we're loaded, right?) that might be desperate
enough to go for it in spite of the risks. makes me a wee bit angry.
makes me want to get carl munday on the phone.
also now i wonder who they got my address from.


i haven't read all the comments at your site, just found you today,
but i'm wondering what banks get involved in this stuff. my check is
issued by intergrated payment systems, inc. englewood, colorado
KEY bank, national association, denver co. if that makes any difference.
i can type out the text if you want, not sure i can scan, our
other computer is down.

sandyrose

Thank you for posting back. I really hate the callousness of these scammers and want to get as much info in this forum and available online so that other potential victims can search and see just what a scam this actually is. I want to make sure others do not get into trouble with the law, which they will if they cash these bogus cheques.

"From your financial history, it looked like you were someone who could
use a little financial aid (persons name) and we enjoy helping people"

The scammer will post thousands of mails hoping the words they use will strike a chord with someone.
I, and I am sure most people are the same, are always in need of extra financial help all the time.

i wonder if these scam things also end up at rich peoples' addresses who wouldn't even blink to spend
$9000, ya know?

Rich or poor, victims come from all walks of life. The scammer doesn't care about age, sex or the hurt they will cause.

i wonder who they got my address from.

Unfortunately most peoples addresses can be found in voting registers or by companies selling on addresses. Every database that goes missing or is stolen adds to the problem. I hate the way that our personal details are cared for so irresponsibly, but that is unfortunately how it is today.

i'm wondering what banks get involved in this stuff

I am certain that the banks are not involved with the fraud, but I will check out the bank to ensure they are genuine and are trading legitimately and acting responsibly.

i can type out the text if you want

I would really appreciate it if you could do that. I know it is hard work, but the exact wording the scammer uses could be just the trigger, not only for us to pin down more info on how this scam is carried out, but could also warn many other potential victims.

Edit to add. Please do not post any private information. Your safety is important to me also.

Hi SandyRose, welcome to Scamwarners.

The Enchantress seems to have your questions covered but I would like to address one of your comments

who are these people saying they've seen my financial history etc>?

I very much doubt they have seen your financial records, it is simply a draft scam email that goes out to everybody, the chance of them actually knowing about or seeing your financial records is about the same as the chance of then not trying to rip you off.

Much can be learnt by baiting scammers (see www.419eater.com) and there is one thing I learnt very early and that is that scammers are lazy and hate having to write their emails from scratch, scam email are lucky to have a name personalised in some cases

thanks again, people. you know, occasionally yull see a news story
where scams like this are exposed for all to see. oh how i would
love to see this kind of thing pointed out to everyone, because
somehow or other there are still a lot of trusting people out there
(i'm not one of em) who will believe this letter is for real.
i am most happy to write out the letter i received. no problem
at all. this is a cruel hoax and should be exposed for what it is.



(please forgive me for not capitalizing)


official check no. 462510212

key services corp
p10760 memorial dr
fort drum, ny 13603 date: february 4, 2009

+++four thousand six hundred thirty dollars and 00 cents+++ $4,630.00

drawer: keybank
(sloppy signature, looks like sparrow l. kraemer
authorized signature
purpose/remitter: jackson enterprises
issued by integrated systems, inc. englewood, colorado
key bank, national association, denver colorado



(sandy's note, yeh, i'm not including my address but i have no qualms giving
their info out. i'm a 9/11 truther, i'm used to it. see patriotsquestion9/11.com.
sorry, it's a habit, i guess you'll block that out if you don't like it!)



congratulations (my name)

you have been selected to receive a $9260.00 cash grant! the first of your
two payments of $4,630.00 is attached above. (check looks quite real by the way)

dear (my name),

my name is jim welch and i'm a grant broker at the grant organization. (?)
i have successfully acquired a $9,260.00 cash financial aid grant for you
to be used to pay off bills, start a new business or any way your wish.

important: by cashing or depositing the attached check, you agree to the
terms disclosed in this letter.

why you were chosen for a cash grant

every year large corporation and wealthy individuals give away billions
to charities and individuals in need in the form of financial assistance
donations and grants. it costs them nothing because it's tax-deductible
and it's good for their public image as well.
we at the grant organization (?) have
connections with many of these corporations and private parties and we
have procured a $9,260.00 grant for you from one of our connections. (?)
from your financial history, it looked like you were someone who could
use a little financial aid (my name) and we enjoy helping people.
a grant is not a loan because a grant never has to be repaid! your
other check is waiting in our office. to receive your other payment of
$4,630.00 you must return to me a 10% commission (on the total amount
to be revived) of $926.00 after you've cashed or deposited the above check.
the next check you receive will be all yours! this grant was issued by
one of our affluent affiliates: jackson enterprises. grant brokers are
prohibited by law from debiting commissions for grants until grant money
is acceptance (their typo) by clients. thus we cannot simply deduct
commission amounts from grants in advance.

to contact us, as soon as you cash or deposit this
check you must go to:

www.FindGrantPeople.info or www.FindGrantPeople.NET (in the
event of technical difficulties with the .info site) ?!?

find our current website business address from site above. follow the
instructions at our website on how to pay me, your grant broker jim
welch a 10% commission. as soon as i receive the 10% commission
your other check, which is currently being held in reserve, will be sent
to you by next day air express mail. (sandy's note, i bet it will!)

if you agree to these terms and conditions you may cash or deposit
your check now! CHECK EXPIRES ONE MONTH AFTER DATE OF ISSUE
ON 11/07/08 (sandy-repeating that, 11/07/08, not 09.)

if you cash or deposit the above check and fail to grant me the 10%
commission fee within 5-days, (and here it comes- sandy) you will
not receive your other check for $4,630.00 and your case will be turned
over to a collections agency. in this event, you will be required to repay
the full 100% of the attached check at once and failure to do so will
reflect negatively on your credit report for a period of seven years. so
please remember to pay the small commission!


to get started

1. cash or deposit the attached check into your bank account.
2. immediately go to www.findgrantpeople.info (.info not .com) or
www.findgrantpeople.net (in the event of technical difficulties with the
.info site) for our current web business address. (?!!)
at our website, click my name link, grant broker: jim welch.
3. follow the instructions to get me my 10% commission on total to be
received ($926.00) (you keep all of the next check i send you).
4. receive your next check for $4,630.00 by airmail express the next
day!

thank you sandra and enjoy your cash grant!!


(even sloppier signature) jim welch
jim welch- AN INDEPENDENT GRANT BROKER WITH GRANT ORGANIZATION.

(is there even such a thing?)


there it is. sounds tempting yes? cause i could sure use the money. so
maybe if i just TRY cashing it and see what happens.....

GOTCHA! i was just kidding, guys.

hey, i know some would/might disagree with this, and it seems off topic
here but maybe not so much, if ya think about it, i'd throw certain rotten
elements of the u s gummint in the suspect list on this one 2, they have so
many ways of lying and ripping us off that that wouldn't sprize me one bit.
and they're great buds with rich corporations and individuals. i'm just sayin.

thanks again for exposing these leeches. can i say leeches?
power to the people, right on!


oh, one more ps. was just wondering what would happen if a check like
this got stolen and cashed by someone else! that would bite doubly!
people should destroy them probly and not just place them in the trash.
i'm getting out the bic on this one. yawl have a good day.

Thanks for doing this, you will be rewarded for your effort when your time has prevented somebody else from being scammed.

It is way past my bedtime but just to answer your question quickly

oh, one more ps. was just wondering what would happen if a check like
this got stolen and cashed by someone else! that would bite doubly!
people should destroy them probly and not just place them in the trash.
i'm getting out the bic on this one. yawl have a good day.

The person who cashed the cheque would soon enough have the police knocking on their door (if indeed thay had a door) and the bank would reverse the funds drawn on the cheque.

I personnaly prefer the idea of writing fake on it in big red writing and keep them as a reminder, it has a two fold effect of reminding you and if you display it prominantly, people will ask about it and then you can tell them all about scams and the scammer who wanted to steal from you which may in turn prevent them from being scammed

Thank you Sandy.

Damn right you can call them leeches. They are just that. As for a big news story, your post jim welch grant broker is google front page worldwide he is exposed for all to see. I know many will check and see the scam for what it is. Your words will save them getting into a heap of trouble.

As I promised I will now check all the leads.

Well done. And Power to the People, Right On!

Thank you very much for this site! I just picked up my mail today and inside was the same check and letter that sandyrose received. Mine was through Key Bank, New Haven, IN. It was for $4555.50. I also noticed that the letter mentioned the check would expire one month after the date of issue on 11/7/08 and the check was dated February 10, 2009. The same names and signatures that she mentioned were also on it. I came right back to work and started checking it all out and found you guys! I wrote FAKE on the check, just in case it blew out of my purse or something. Cheers to you all!

sooner36

Welcome to Scamwarners and thank you for your post and praise. I am glad you were sensible enough to check and investigate and discover the scam. Please help the cause by telling all your friends and neighbours and work colleagues to be wary and wise.

Thank you.

Hi sooner36! Glad to hear that you found this site and this thread to help you. Thank you for taking the time to post.

Please do read on the other types of internet fraud while you're here and spread the word.