Unknown, Gov. Grant, Richard Parker

Victim Location 32177

Type of a scam Government Grant

The scammer calls your home and tells you that you are the lucky recipient of a once -in-a-lifetime government grant. The scammer has a strong mid-eastern accent like they are from India and never clearly tell you what office of the government they are calling from. They will eventually tell you it is a grant from a branch of Human Resources but never clarify. They say the government selects the recipient based on credit history, federal tax information and background check. They will tell you they require a bank account or credit card to transfer the money to. When I told them I wasn’t giving out my bank account information and I didn’t have a credit card, they quickly told me that I could receive it through Western Union and could have the grant money within 20-25 minutes. Then they tell you the amount you will receive: in my case, it was $7,849. They will ask you what kind of work you do and tell you that you may use the money for only legal purchases such as a car, school, home repair, paying bills, etc., but not for tobacco, alcohol, drugs, or any other illegal purchase. The scammer will eventually give you a money approval number, RA277, and a call back number to verify your info and to finalize the transaction. The number I received was 1-206-204-4977 and was told to speak to Richard Parker. I called the number and it was answered by another person with the same type of heavy accent. "Richard Parker" went through a similar sales pitch and finally said that there was a one-time, refundable transaction fee of $220. When I told him that I didn’t have $220, he told me that they could hold the funds for a short time and to see if I could come up with the fee. I was told to call back when I had the fee and they would complete the transaction and my grant money would be available at Western Union with in 25 minutes.