Has someone offered you a huge sum of money or a valuable consignment? It's a 419 or advance fee fraud - find out how they work, and what to do to be safe.
by bobbywatts24 Sun Jun 01, 2008 9:30 pm
I'm almost 100% sure this is a scam. My wife got a phone call from her brother yesterday, and was telling her about this letter that his son received in the mail. It just came out of the blue. It had something to do with a cash grant. The company is supposed to be in California, at least that is what is listed on their website. There was a check for such and such amount. In the letter it gave the website of the place that the letter came from and the instructions on how to pay a certain person their commission for helping them get the grant. I didn't know for sure if I could post the website address here, so I didn't. I was just wondering if any one else has received any thing like or similar to this. I am going to try and get the letter and check so I can scan it to my computer and post it if that is allowed. Sorry this is so long, but this is the best way to describe what I am talking about.
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by Pat Hamilton Sun Jun 01, 2008 10:57 pm
By all means post whatever info you have and we'd be happy to investigate and advise. From what you have described I'd say it's absolutely a scam and you are very wise to be suspicious. Unless the young man in question has actually applied for some kind of grant or other financial assistance there is no way anyone would randomly offer it like that. Tell your brother in law and his son not to reply the the letter and if you can scan it here we'll take a look at it for you.

Edit: XXXX out your family's names and other personal details. We are only interested in the scammer's info.
Last edited by Pat Hamilton on Sun Jun 01, 2008 11:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

by Dan Jones Sun Jun 01, 2008 11:02 pm
Sounds 98% scam. Did he apply for a grant, does he know the sender?

It sounds like a cheque scam with a twist that they are mass mailing them out to random people. Do not cash the cheque. It is a fake, or it is stolen.

If cashed it will probably bounce later on in the clearing house and your nephew in-law will be responsible for paying the whole lot back.

I'm pretty sure you can post the link here, also scan a scan of the cheque wouldn't hurt, write FAKE on the picture before posting though.
by bobbywatts24 Mon Jun 02, 2008 3:09 am
No, he didn't apply for the grant. He doesn't know the sender. The website address is www.awardgrant.com or www.awardgrant.org

I will try and get the check and letter so I can scan it to my computer so I can post it here.

by Scam Patroller Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:07 am
The address and phone number used in the registration of one of of those domain names is:

Registrant Street1:275 Slater Street, Suite 900
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Ottawa
Registrant State/Province:ON
Registrant Postal Code:K1P 5H9
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.6134822085


The same [email protected] email address is used in both registrations.

If you look on this page, you will see another scam site listed with the same address:

Long Google Cached Url

The fake site listed there is called www.actioncreditgroup.com and you can read more about them here:

Long Google Cached Url For: actioncreditgroup.com


Here is the Who-Is for both domains:


Awardgrant.org opens in a frame from a free webhost:

http://tripod.110mb.com/members/money/i ... 461367124/

Award Grant - The Financial Aid Station
www.awardgrant.org (whois)
82.197.131.17, (reverse ip), ns1.awardspace.com., LNC-ATTRACTSOFT-GMBH, [email protected]


Domain ID:D150611809-LROR
Domain Name:AWARDGRANT.ORG
Created On:11-Jan-2008 05:21:27 UTC
Last Updated On:12-Mar-2008 03:51:49 UTC
Expiration Date:11-Jan-2009 05:21:27 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Sibername.com Inc (R1388-LROR)
Status:OK
Registrant ID:DI_7581859
Registrant Name:Dactus Wall
Registrant Organization:NA
Registrant Street1:275 Slater Street, Suite 900
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Ottawa
Registrant State/Province:ON
Registrant Postal Code:K1P 5H9
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.6134822085
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:[email protected]
Admin ID:DI_7581859
Admin Name:Dactus Wall
Admin Organization:NA
Admin Street1:275 Slater Street, Suite 900
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Ottawa
Admin State/Province:ON
Admin Postal Code:K1P 5H9
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.6134822085
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:[email protected]
Tech ID:DI_7581859
Tech Name:Dactus Wall
Tech Organization:NA
Tech Street1:275 Slater Street, Suite 900
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:Ottawa
Tech State/Province:ON
Tech Postal Code:K1P 5H9
Tech Country:US
Tech Phone:+1.6134822085
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:[email protected]
Name Server:NS1.AWARDSPACE.COM
Name Server:NS2.AWARDSPACE.COM
Name Server:NS3.AWARDSPACE.COM
Name Server:NS4.AWARDSPACE.COM



Awardgrant.com opens in a frame from aother free webhost:

http://account3094857839304928233747483 ... /index.htm

Award Grant - The Financial Aid Station
www.awardgrant.com (whois)
82.197.130.22, (reverse ip), ns1.runhosting.com., LNC-ATTRACTSOFT-GMBH, [email protected]


Domain Name: AWARDGRANT.COM
Registrar: ENOM, INC.
Whois Server: whois.enom.com
Referral URL: http://www.enom.com
Name Server: NS1.RUNHOSTING.COM
Name Server: NS2.RUNHOSTING.COM
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 04-feb-2008
Creation Date: 10-jan-2008
Expiration Date: 10-jan-2009


>>> Last update of whois database: Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:54:33 EDT <<<

Domain name: awardgrant.com

Registrant Contact:

Dactus Wall ([email protected])
+1.2608466314
Fax: +1.
4428 Country Club Rd
Spencer, IN 47460
US

Administrative Contact:

Dactus Wall ([email protected])
+1.2608466314
Fax: +1.
4428 Country Club Rd
Spencer, IN 47460
US

Technical Contact:

Dactus Wall ([email protected])
+1.2608466314
Fax: +1.
4428 Country Club Rd
Spencer, IN 47460
US

Status: Locked

Name Servers:
ns1.runhosting.com
ns2.runhosting.com

Creation date: 11 Jan 2008 00:08:10
Expiration date: 11 Jan 2009 00:08:10

Remember, if it seems to good to be true, then it is.

http://www.419eater.com - http://www.aa419.org

by bobbywatts24 Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:33 am
Yea, I already looked that up. Both IP addresses come up as being in Germany.

by Ralph Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:56 am
Hi Bobbywatts and welcome,

I am glad you have spotted it as a scam, would you mind posting any details you can, phone numbers and address given, sometimes when potential victims are not sure about a scam they may google different bits of information they have.

The most common searches people make are

the email address
the phone number
the name of the person involved

There are a few more searches we could do but they are the main ones,

I realise you most likely dont have the email address but any of the other details you can provide here may prevent others from falling for this.

BTW, well done on finding those details yourself, more like you out there would certainly help our cause (in the absense of a thumbs up emoticon I chose this one) :=)

by bobbywatts24 Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:18 am
Ok, this is from the first page of the website:

EFI Enterprise
23755 Malibu Rd.
Malibu, CA 90265

Fax: 310-919-0154
[email protected]

You have pictures of 8 people that are supposed to be grant brokers.
Each picture is clickable.

Above those pictures you have 4 buttons to click.
Home The Home Page

About Us

EFI Enterprise is located in Malibu, California and consists of a team of currently eight grant brokers and a program director. In 2007 alone we successfully brokered over $26-million in financial assistance grants. Every year large corporations and private wealthy individuals allot billions in financial assistance grants to both charities and individuals in need, or individuals that could otherwise use financial help. This is good for their public image and it’s also totally free to them as the donations are tax-deductible. We at EFI Enterprise have connection with many of the corporations and wealthy parties that normally give grants. This allows us to easily procure financial aid grants. We specialize in locating individuals of average and below average annual income and procuring financial assistance grants on their behalf, for a small commission.

EFI Enterprise
23755 Malibu Rd.
Malibu, CA 90265

Fax: 310-919-0154
[email protected]


Contact Us

EFI Enterprise
23755 Malibu Rd.
Malibu, CA 90265

Fax: 310-919-0154
[email protected]


Pay Commission

Once the 10% commission is received other portion of your grant will be rushed to you by Next Day Air Express Mail.

Click The Grant Broker Below Who Acquired Your Grant For You:




This is on the contact page:

| Home | About Us | Contact Us | Claim You Grant | Pay Commission |

Claim You Grant -Click it- opens a new window-

Grant Claim Form

Grant Information
Grant Claim/Approval #:* On the notice you received.
Amount of Promised Grant:*
Personal Information
E-Mail:
First Name:*
Last Name:*
Mailing Address Line 1:*
Mailing Address Line 2:
City:*
State:*
Zip Code:*
Phone:*





Click The Grant Broker Below Who Acquired Your Grant For You:



Bill Harrison
Hello, I’m Grant Broker Bill Harrison. If I acquired your grant for you, please send a 10% Commission Check or Money Order payable to Bill Harrison to:


EFI Enterprise
Attn: Bill Harrison
23755 Malibu Road
Malibu, CA 90265

You can also fax a check to me here at W.CL. Financial. Our fax number is: 310-919-0154.

The other portion of your grant will be sent to you right away.

[email protected]



Peter Wright
Hello, I’m Grant Broker Peter Wright. If I acquired your grant for you, please send a 10% Commission Check or Money Order payable to Peter Wright to:

EFI Enterprise
Attn: Peter Wright
23755 Malibu Road
Malibu, CA 90265

You can also fax a check to me here at EFI Enterprise. Our fax number is: 310-919-0154.

The other portion of your grant will be sent to you right away.

[email protected]



Al Snyder
Hello, I’m Grant Broker Peter Wright. If I acquired your grant for you, please send a 10% Commission Check or Money Order payable to Peter Wright to:

EFI Enterprise
Attn: Al Snyder
23755 Malibu Road
Malibu, CA 90265

You can also fax a check to me here at EFI Enterprise. Our fax number is: 310-919-0154.

The other portion of your grant will be sent to you right away.

[email protected]



Tabatha Clark
Hello, I’m Grant Broker Tabatha Clark. If I acquired your grant for you, please send a 10% Commission Check or Money Order payable to Tabatha Clark to:

EFI Enterprise
Attn: Tabatha Clark
23755 Malibu Road
Malibu, CA 90265


You can also fax a check to me here at EFI Enterprise. Our fax number is: 310-919-0154.

The other portion of your grant will be sent to you right away.

[email protected]



Abraham Zadian
Hello, I’m Grant Broker Abraham Zadian. If I acquired your grant for you, please send a 10% Commission Check or Money Order payable to Abraham Zadian to:

EFI Enterprise
Attn: Abraham Zadian
23755 Malibu Road
Malibu, CA 90265

You can also fax a check to me here at EFI Enterprise. Our fax number is: 310-919-0154.

The other portion of your grant will be sent to you right away.

[email protected]



Christy Lee
Hello, I’m Grant Broker Christy Lee. If I acquired your grant for you, please send a 10% Commission Check or Money Order payable to Christy Lee to:

EFI Enterprise
Attn: Christy Lee
23755 Malibu Road
Malibu, CA 90265

You can also fax a check to me here at EFI Enterprise. Our fax number is: 310-919-0154.

The other portion of your grant will be sent to you right away.

[email protected]



Rena Jones
Hello, I’m Grant Broker Rena Jones,

If I acquired your grant for you you must choose me to send the 10% commission to.

I had to fly to Europe on an emergency business errand and I will not be back in the United States’ office in Malibu, California until late next month. However, the deadline to pay the commission and qualify to receive the other portion of your payment is still 5-days after you cash or deposit the check. I have your checks with me in Europe. Please follow the instructions below to allot me the10% commission of your first payment and I will still send your other check – for the same amount as the first check you received – by Next Day Air from Europe!

I Accept Commission Payments Via: GREENDOT® – A New Way To Send Cash

You can send me a cash payment by adding money onto a GREENDOT® Universal Reload Card or a GRENDOT® MoneyPak (same thing) and sending me the card number. This will allow me to load the money into my bank account instantly. You can purchase these cards in the prepaid section of any Right Aid, Walgreens, CVS, Ralph’s and many other smaller retailers throughout the United States. The prepaid section is the section with the gift cards, cell phone cards and etc.


It cost only $4.95 to load up to $500 on one of these cards. If the 10% commission your paying is over $500 because your first check was over $5,000, simply load money onto additional cards.


Let’s Start

1. If you don’t know where a local RiteAid, CVS Drugs, Walgreens, Ralph’s or Wal-Mart is, Click Here to find the nearest GREENDOT® Universal Reload Card or GREENDOT® MoneyPak vender in you aria.
2. Come back to this page once you have the card and Click Here(opens a new page to submit commission) to send me the number which will be located on the back of this card electronically online or Click Here(new page to GREENDOT® Commission Payment Fax Form)
to FAX me the numbers. I can then instantly transfer the funds to my bank account and I’ll send you your other check, which is being held in waiting, by Next Day Express Airmail. If using the fax option be sure and fax directly to my eFax number (this just means I receive the fax on my computer; you send the fax just like to any other fax number): 219-841-5406. Do Not fax it to the company fax number in Malibu, California.

[email protected]



John Greene

Hello, I’m Grant Broker John Greene. If I acquired your grant for you, please send a 10% Commission Check or Money Order payable to John Greene to:

EFI Enterprise
Attn: John Greene
23755 Malibu Road
Malibu, CA 90265

You can also fax a check to me here at EFI Enterprise. Our fax number is: 310-919-0154.

The other portion of your grant will be sent to you right away.

[email protected]



And that's about it.


I will try to get the award letter and check sometime today so I can scan it and post it.

by ChrisSmith Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:56 am
Can we kill this over at Eater?

by rattfan80 Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:37 am
My mother received a check today in the amount of $4810 which has a watermark on it as well as security makrs,and it looks real.It came from the Women's Business Guild,supposedly. They are telling her that she needs to send like $900 some back to them via MoneyPak reloadable card nd then she will receive another check in the same amount but will not be required to send any money. It told her to visit this website which is awardgrant.com,then she was to click on pay commission,then Rena Jones. Luckily,there is a phone number actually located on the check,which was a toll-free number for WaMu Bank.After getting upset from listening to recordings for nearly a half an hour,I finally was able to speak to a real person,and the gentleman there told me that yes,there have been many of these SCAM checks distributed recently.So,please,don't fall for these.

rattfan80

by Dan Jones Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:44 am
Great work on using your detective skill there Rattfan. Half an hour on hold is much better than half an hour in court and having to pay all that money back.

Thanks for posting some more info on the scam. If anyone sends you a cheque and asks you to forward any amount to someone then it's a scam. No real business needs to do that.

You should spend some time reading up on the other types of scam that you may come in contact with. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to scams.

Have a great day knowing that you are not out of pocket.

by rattfan80 Tue Jul 22, 2008 11:55 am
Why,Thank you,Mr.Cookie Monster. :) Yes,the website I checked out for my mother had all of the information just as listed above. It's a shame that people attempt to take others over like they do.
by RobnLV Sat Oct 25, 2008 10:22 pm
Yes, I recieved one of these checks from Abraham Zadian, however it was from a company in Beverly Hills called the Grant Tree at www.findgrantpeople.info , but had all the same brokers. It must be a generated response as when I clicked on Mr. Zadian, The response with him having to make an Emergency trip to Europe was there, just like the other person above who recieved it from Ms. Jones. Goes to show it must be a scam, what throws it off is the official check from Washington Mutual......
Thanks for the posts here to help me make a decision! Into the garbage it goes!!

Rob

by Ralph Sun Oct 26, 2008 5:14 am
Hi Rob,

Welcome to Scamwarners, I am glad that this post has been able to help you to determine that the person you have dealt with is a scammer.

It goes to show the imoportance of publicly listing their information.

In regards to the checks, you can keep them as reminders if you like, just be sure to write "Fake" on them so you will not be in any thouble with the law if they were to find them.

If you have any more questions please ask and if you have any additional details please post them here as well.
by symetrical2 Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:30 am
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"

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