have you ever heard of the "Federal Institute of Government Grants"
from Las Vegas? If so, is it legit?

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Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 09 Dec 2004 07:12 PST

Can you provide additional background information? For example, where
have you heard of this obscure institute? Did you receive an e-mail
with a suspicious offer? If you, could you post the e-mail text? Every
detail could be helpful.

Scriptor

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Clarification of Question by tomjo-ga on 10 Dec 2004 09:20 PST

I was contacted via phone, being told I was eligible for government
grants which would be deposited directly into my checking account,
which could be used to pay-off medical bills, etc.  The person gave me
his name and a "confirmation number" and never asked for an account
number, but asked for a bank routing number.  I'm a bit cynical, but
when things sound too good to be true......  That's all the
information I have about these people.  Anything you could tell me
will be appreciated. Thanks.

---

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 10 Dec 2004 09:38 PST

tomjo-ga,

PLEASE...steer clear of these people.  This has SCAM written all over it. 

There is no government-sponsored institute such as you described.  Nor
are there government grant programs that simply call people up to tell
them they will be receiving money.

Under no circumstances should you give out personal and financial
information over the phone to any group whose identity you are not
100% certain of.

Let us know if you need additional information...

pafalafa-ga

Dear tomjo-ga

You have definitely been targeted by a well-known telephone scam that
changes very little in its modus operandi. The fraud begins when a
well-rehearsed ?solicitor? calls you out of the blue and makes
promises of government grants. What they eventually end up doing is
asking for an "up-front fee" and then banking information. They in
turn (sometimes within minutes) draw the money from your bank account.
Though the fee is taken immediately, the grants never materialize,
leaving those who have been led to believe they were coming into
hundreds or thousands of dollars very sadly and unable to recover the
money that they ALLOWED to be taken in the first place.

These swindlers use a variety of names but their con is almost always
the same. Past con men have used the names ?Government Grant Center?,
?Consumer Grants USA?, ?Ultimate Funding Inc.?, ?Government Grant
USA?, ?Federal Government Information Center?, ?Federal Government
Grant Information Center?, ?National Grant Center?, ?Federal Research
Funding?, ?Customer Care Plus?, ?The Department of Revenue? and
perhaps others.

Check out the transcribed conversation here and you?ll probably notice
some similarities to what happened to you:

URBAN LEGENDS
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/govgrant.asp

I recommend you file an incident report with Consumer Affairs so other
people won?t unknowingly be taken advantage of. You can do this in a
few minutes online at no cost.

CONSUMER AFFAIRS COMPLAINT FORM
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/php/a_report.php



Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions
about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating
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Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher


INFORMATION SOURCES

CONSUMER AFFAIRS: GRANT SCAM
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/grant_scam.html

CONSUMER AFFAIRS: SCAM ALERT
(Complaints from others like you)
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/scam_alerts/grant.html

CONSUMER AFFAIRS: GRANT SCAM DEFRAUDS THOUSANDS
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/grant_scams_ny.html

FREE MONEY RESOURCES BLOG
http://www.free-money-directory.com/blog/


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINES USED:

Google ://www.google.com




SEARCH TERMS USED:


Grant

Scam

Con

Government

Federal

Telephone

I just received a call from the alleged Federal Institute of
Government Grants. Trust me this is a ruse to gain access to your bank
account.

Do not provide personal or financial information to anyone that you do not know.

RT San Francisco