Government Grant Scams

I was contacted by a phone number 323- claiming to be Government Grants Management office and that I had received a $7000 grant to use however I see appropriate. The man on the phone with a thick accent claimed to be Sean *** (how American) and gave me a ID number. I then proceeded to tell him that I was not going to give out any of my account information.

He said no problem. Then he said that due to some scammers that the government made it so that they could prove who the person was receiving the money that I needed to go to the nearest Western Union and wire $199 for a security deposit and within 15 minutes I would receive $7199 back via Western Union. They told me to call as soon as I got to the Western Union and they would stay on the phone with me through the whole process. How sweet. I got off the phone and looked up scams on the internet and seen all the posts.

Another person called me claiming to be his manager wanting to verify my application. I then told him to never call my number again that they were scamming people. As I was hanging up, I could hear him saying "No wait..." So thanks to all who took the time to post. By the way the address where they were claiming they were located is *** *** ave, suite *** Los, Angeles CA 90095. Don't do it!

Well, I was told that there's no money or grants to start small business but how is it I lived here all my life and can't get loans. But example India calls and ask for $500 million to put solar panels on their home and guess what, they get a check. What is going on here? I need your help please.

I have been applying for grants online to open a small business. I received a call from "Prya **." She claimed she is from the federal grant office. She gave me a case number and explained how the grant works and that I will need to get a licensed grant writer recognizable by them whom I was to call the following day to get the information for "Cooper Financial Services" to help with the grant proposal.

I spoke to her the following day and received their information 850.254.0692. And I spoke to a man named "Jeff **" who has a very strong accent and wasn't Irish. I felt suspicious at this point. Then he told me a little bit more about the grant proposal and what information they would need. I found it funny that he didn't want my business plan, only had questions at this time to ask. He also told me that if we wanted to proceed, I needed to send a cashier's check the following day for $487 to do the proposal and pay for the application to send in the grant.

I got off the phone and started researching this supposed company in Tallahasse, FL; nothing. And nothing in the BBB that they told me to look into. I am devastated! I have been planning to open this business, and they took advantage of my situation. They told me I was eligible for the Small Business Reinvestment American Recovery Grant. So upset at this point.

I just got a call from Federal Government Grant Dept, Health and Human services saying the same $7,500 grant I would get because I was a good citizen. She gave me her address as 200 Independence Ave, HHH Building Washington, DC. I asked what her zip code was and she didn't know what I was talking about. She then gave me her employee ID number, PA8007C (her name was Abby P.), with strong Indian accent. She then gave me my conformation number 12759 and then the line went dead. I knew all along this was a scam just wanted to hear her out but she hung up. What a joke!

I received the following email in the past and deleted it. I received this one today. Looks like a scam to me but they are using New York State. Is this real or a scam?

This e-mail contains a link to remittance information regarding a payment to be made directly into your account by New York State, effective 01/26/2012. This message should be forwarded to the appropriate staff for accounts receivable posting. To view your remittance information, go to the following Internet address: https://wwe1.osc.state.ny.us/ach3/achpaf.cfm?p=02049011&w=A+++. Please do not reply to this message. Replies to this message are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have any questions regarding your payment, please contact the agency listed in your remittance. If you would like to make changes to your ACH payment or contact information, please send an e-mail to epunit@osc.state.ny.us.

I received a call from a lady with an accent; I assume it's Indian. She explained that I was chosen to receive 7,000 dollars from the government. This call played out just like everyone else did here pretty much. She gave me a confirmation code and a number to call to register it.

I called 425-296-7936 to see what they were really talking about. Another lady picked up, I gave her the code number and she put me on hold for about 2 minutes and explained that I had options in attaining the grant money. The options were to receive on a debit card, cash or bank account. I knew it may be a scam but I thought our government would have already put a stop to this **. I guess I expect too much from the government.

Anyway, she told me that I would have to pay 240 dollars for the 7,000 dollar transfer. I told her that I didn't have that kind of money right now. She told me to not worry about it because I could always get it when I did have the money. I was actually semi-trusting of these people because I didn't know that someone could just blatantly call you and screw you out of your hard earned money. But they tried to do that to me and a lot others.

Thank goodness I found this site on here because they were about to screw me, because I was going to give up the 240 dollars tomorrow at Western Union. It's a sad day when people can get away with doing this to people, especially people like the female victim from Corpus Christie, TX above my comment. This is a ** shame and I think that something should be done about this.

These scammers should be punished for this and the government should put laws in place to stop this from happening. It's already heard enough to make it in the world. These scammers make it worse. Do something about this President Obama.

Well I have received several calls from a man with a very heavy Indian accent. He said I have been selected to receive a grant for $7,000 because I have not filed bankruptcy and I am not a criminal. They asked how I would like to receive my money. I told him cash. He said I need to go to the Western Union and have to them $190 for processing fee but the next time he called, he said I have to pay $100 processing fee. He says he is calling me from the treasury dept. This is a total scam. These people think they can scam good hardworking Americans out of their money.

I was contacted over the phone from the phone number 202-446-0243 from a woman with a strong Indian accent. She notified me that I was the lucky recipient of a $10,000 government grant to use to pay off my bills and start a home business. I was given a bank security code and a grant approval ID number and told not to discuss the grant with anyone who could not give me those numbers, because there were a lot of "scams out there". I was told that all I had to do to receive my funds directly from the Federal Reserve shortly was to pay a one-time processing fee of $100.

When I informed her that I did not have the money, she became very pushy about me borrowing it from a friend or a family member, because she "promised" I would be getting it right back. I feel very victimized because this came at a time when we were swamped with medical bills due to an unexpected surgery and post operative complications our 10 year old recently underwent. It just seemed like the answer to our prayers. I hope these people are stopped, so they can't continue to do this sort of thing to people. It is wrong.

A female keeps calling to inform me that I am to be the recipient of a $50,000.00 grant to use in whatever manner I choose. They insist that the money is tax free and that I do not have to pay it back. The catch is that they want you to give your banking information over the phone. I refused to give the information.

I received a call from ** and I answered to see who it was. Upon answering I spoke to a woman with a strong Indian accent. She congratulated me on being approved for a $10,000 government grant. She gave me a call-back and approval number to give for direct deposit to my pre-paid card. I went along with the call to find out more about this scam. I also gave her a card number that was not activated, then report the card stolen. I then called the callback number and a man with a strong Indian accent answered the phone.

He congratulated me on my $10,000 government grant and apologized for being rude because he talks to a lot of citizens to get money deposited. He repeatedly asked me about my employment status. Once I said I was unemployed he put me on hold and then got on the phone asking if I get unemployment benefits. He put me on hold again, so I figured they were coming up with more scamming techniques. He got back on the line and asked my marital status, home ownership status, and what I would use the money for.

These are all questions the woman asked me that called from **. He went on to say that there would be a $10,000 wire transfer that I do not need to pay back. After saying this, he said in order to get the money I had to pay a one-time, lifetime and processing fee of $100. The $100 would be donated to the Red Cross, American Cancer Society, or American Children's Foundation for taxing purposes since I receive unemployment benefits. He said the only way I could pay this was by a Zogo Cash Card in the amount of $100 and I would need to buy the card and stay on the phone with him for 10 minutes for the transfer to take place.

I told him I didn't know what the card was and didn't have one. He continuously asked when I would be able to get one, so I made up a fake day and time. He said he would give me a call back when I got the card to transfer the money. This is a big scam and I am reporting this company to the Better Business Bureau. It is a shame that these people try to scam innocent citizens out of their money. I hope these scammers get caught and serve big time.

I received a call today on my cell phone from an Andrew **. He said that he was from the federal government and is informing me that I was selected to receive a Federal Grant for $7000 and that I didn't have to pay it back. He gave me a security code and the number to a Ms. Christy **. I called the number and Christy answered. I informed her that I could barely understand what Andrew was saying and that she may have to tell me again. She said not a problem. I gave her the security code and was put on hold for about three minutes as she had to check the file she said. When she returned she informed me that I was chosen because I paid my bills on time, had not filed bankruptcy in the last six months and didn't have a criminal record. She gave me several options for payment by credit card, bank account, or cash.

I asked how it works with the cash option. She said I had to go to a Western Union store and call her back and she would stay on the line the whole time until I received the money. She said that Western Union could not give me the whole amount and they would give me some in cash and the rest in a check or money order and I had to have $190 in cash for a security deposit. I had to pay the security deposit because I don't have to pay any taxes on the money, and if I didn't pay the $190 I could be in trouble later on with the government because the government selected me for the grant. She also said that I would get the $190 back. I said that I had to check to see if I had the money. I also asked if I would get the money on the spot and if I could do this at another time. She said, "Yes, the money is always ready, it's from the government."

I was happy but something told me to check to see if this grant was legit. So I checked the internet for the answer and clicked on this site. From what I have read this has happened to a lot of people and I am glad I'd decided to do some research. I have been scammed before and I don't have money to throw away. Thanks.

I received a call today and it is exactly the same as some of the reports I have read here. Someone who says his name is Jeff told me I was entitled to a 7 thousand dollar grant and offered several options for me to receive it. I opted for Western Union and was told to go to the store and call back. I was told this person would stay on the phone with me through the entire transaction. I would have to deposit 240 dollars to the Western Union to receive the money which I would receive back in a matter of a few minutes. I declined and looked up some information on this issue to find this site and I want to thank all who report these things.

I received a call from the U.S treasury Dept. The number was restricted and the guy that called, his name was Jerry. So Jerry told me that I have been selected to receive a $7,000 grant and that this only happens once a year to only a few citizens of the United States. So Jerry doesn't even sound like he lives in the U.S. but he is saying he works for the government. So I give them a *** credit card, a prepaid one. Jerry gives me a code and a phone number to call. I called the number and another gentlemen answers.

He has an American name and an Indian sounding accent. Just like Jerry, he goes on to tell me that in order to get this money, I need to get to the nearest Western Union and send him $130 for bank fees. I just told the man to take the "fees" out of the "grant money" that I have been lucky enough to be selected for. He then goes on saying that I'm lucky for being selected for this and I need to take him seriously because I need this money. So I just hung up the phone.

I received a call from a heavily accented eastern Indian man, indicating the US government had selected me to receive a $7000 grant. He went on and told me if I gave him a credit card number or bank account, I could have the money within 10 to 15 minutes to use any way I saw fit. I was also instructed to call 2020657-6252 and give them my authorization code of ** to the person who answered the phone. I gave the guy a bogus gift card number to get further info on this scam.

I called the phone number as instructed and an Asian sounding woman answered the phone. I gave her the "authorization code" and was put on hold for about 15 minutes. She came back on the line stating I needed to pay a fee of $210, which was required as a charitable donation to release these funds. I told her to deduct it from the "grant money" that was to be deposited. She then went on to say those funds could not be used for that and that I should go down to a Western Union. Upon arrival there, I called her for instructions to transfer the funds to her. But also, I was instructed not to let the Western Union agent know why or what I was doing. I then hung up on this woman. This woman did call me back several hours later (I did not answer the phone). I imagine she called, because I had not gone to Western Union .

I received a call informing me I was one of 1,500 lucky recipients of a $7,000 "Loyal Citizen Grant". I was told the US Treasury Dept. gives this money away every year, to 1,500 loyal tax paying citizens. She told me my confirmation code was VA550. She stated this was legit, and she wanted to wire the money to my bank account. She tried to obtain my bank account number or credit card number, which I refused to give. I believe this is totally fraudulent, and that these people are stealing. Again, her name which is probably false, is Natalie **. Her direct phone number is **. I called her back, and she did answer this number. Someone please catch these crooks!

I received a phone call on my cell phone stating since I filed my taxes on time and have not filed bankruptcy in the past 6 months, I was one of 3000 people they picked to receive a $5000.00 government grant. First off I never applied for any grants. I am disabled, permanently, and I have a home phone. This man named Steve ** called me on my pay-to-use monthly cell phone. I said I have no bank account and didn't know or have any cards to see what he would say. He told me to go online and sign up for a RUSH card or a Green Dot card. Odd. I asked why not send me a check. He said it had to be processed in 5-6 hours, so I said send it Western Union, and they said they couldn't prove the recipient was me (untrue). He claimed to have all my info on his government computer screen.

I called back and it was Los Angeles, California. I said Steve (government ID # **) said to call back ASAP with my pay-to-use Visa or MasterCard I signed up thru with RUSH or Green Dot. I got a Pakistani lady (when he called I could hear a "Pakistani" phone bank in the background). I told her I was making sure this was not wire fraud before I said who I was and she hung up, and now this number will not take or answer any calls they get from my cell phone. They state they are a part of our government located in D.C., yet are all Pakistani and operate at this address: ** Los Angeles, CA 90001. I know this is a scam. My cell phone (we have 5 and he did ask how many people lived in my home) has never been listed on any tax returns.

Some guy called me and said that I was entitled to a $10,000 free grant from the US Treasury and I need to go to Western Union and send them %100 so they can send my grant to me. I hung up on him and he called back but I didn't answer my phone.

Today afternoon, I received a call from some James ** with a distinct Indian/Pakistani accent, supposedly from the Dept of US Health & Human Services. The caller informed me that I was eligible for a $12,500 grant by the US government since I had been paying my taxes on time. I am from S. Asia and from the tone/accent, I knew a scam was being perpetuated but decided to play along.

I told the scammer that I had missed on two of my tax filings in the last five years and that IRS was looking into it. He still insisted that I was eligible. To claim the grant, I had to go to the nearest Western Union branch and call 800-827-7048. I told him I am on my way right now.

I called the 800 number after 15 minutes and spoke with an account manager (another dude with Indian/Pakistani accent). He told me to send them $225 as transaction or processing fee and provide them with my checking or cc info. I obliged and gave them some junk numbers (checking account) from "My Own Bank of Illinois" with a dummy routing number. Then I asked if they needed my credit card number as well. Once hearing affirmative, I provided those as well and then told them that I just sent the $225 cash through WU and if they can confirm if they received it. Then I casually asked the manager that for how long they had been scamming people and how long they intended to continue. I then used the choicest abuse in their own language until the guy hung up.

This is a scam that has been going around for a while. Having immigrated here more than 14 years ago, I know nothing is free and certainly anything from Uncle Sam. Pl. be warned and do not give out your personal/financial info. If you can try to glean as much as you can from them, publish it and spread the awareness amongst fellow Americans.

I just received a call from a Steve ** claiming to be calling from the government. He gave me his government ID of ** and told me that I was eligible to receive a $5,000 grant for never having filed bankruptcy and filing my taxes on time. After ensuring me that I would never have to pay it back, he verified my name and address. He then told me that he would need my bank account number or CC number. He said that this had to be completed by the end of this month.

After I told him that I would not give my personal information and that it would have to be in the form of a gift card or check. He said that I would be able to call him back at ** later to give him my information. He said that even though I was skeptical, there was no way he could have the information he had without being with the government. He also gave an address: ** Los Angeles, CA 90001.

I was at my college when I got a call from a 202 number. It actually sounded like an oriental accent, but could have been Indian. They basically said I won a grant for $5,000.00. This is where it gets weird. I asked him how he got my information, and he said I sent in a petition on US.gov website. This is actually true. I did. I had sought info on grants, to start a small business, but I had been called back and denied. So I am starting to think that maybe, there is some truth to this, but I was still skeptical. He had asked me to verify my info, and the info was of my old address, which the gov would have, because I changed my address at the USPS, so they can transfer my mail to where I live now. So I corrected him, but I was still skeptical. He then gave me a confirmation code, and told me to call this number, but reminded me to only spend it on school stuff, or good stuff, something on those principles.

I hung up and called the other number a couple of minutes later, and it sounded like a lazy Mexican. He told me blah blah blah Western Union transfer, but then you will get it back. Then I knew it was a scam, and I told them to give it away, you filthy **, and that was that.

I received a phone call saying I had been selected to receive $7,000 in free government money. The guy said that 1,500 people in my city and state had been selected to receive this grant, for paying their bills on time, and that the grant money was tax free, and would never have to be paid back. He then gave me the number 202-684-6935 to call, and a grant application ID number to give the next person I spoke with. Once I called the number, a guy asked me to verify my name, address, date of birth, and asked how I would like to receive my $7,000.

I told him I would like to receive it through Western Union, and that's when he proceeded to tell me that I would have to send $250 first, that would be refunded back to me immediately. I told him, "no thanks" because I believe this was a scam, and he got really angry and hung up. I called back to tell him to never call me again with this scam, and he cursed me, and said he was on his way to my house. I'm not sure who these people are, but beware, because he said some really harsh things to me, that makes me fear for my safety, since he does have my address.

I got a call just like the rest of the ones I see on here, a grant for $7,000 and she had a West African accent. I ask her for their address and she told me it was 200 SW Indpendents Ave. Washington, DC 20201. I ask her for phone #. She said it was 202-683-9940. Then I asked her for id#. She said it was #7723ustggg. I said I would have to call back. So I looked it up on the internet and it's a scam.

I received a phone call on my mobile phone at 11:33am Jan 3, 2012 from a 'blocked' number and a lady with a thick accent claiming to be with the Federal Government Grant Dept claimed that I was eligible for a $7000 grant because I have no criminal record and no bankruptcy filed. She gave me a phone number to call back, xxx-xxx-xxxx, and an approval number RI2043. When I asked her for verification of her affiliation with the Federal Government, she then went on to ask for my banking or credit card info so the money could be transferred into my account. I refused to give her my information and she finally hung up after I told her she should stop scamming people.

I called the number she gave me, xxx-xxx-xxxx, to see who would answer. A male with a thick accent answered saying it was the U.S. Treasury! I told him I had received a call about a government grant and gave him the 'approval' number the girl had given me. Next he asked for my name which I did not give him. Instead I asked him how he could prove to me he is with the Federal Government and he immediately said goodbye and hung up.

I received a call from (318) 433-3442 by a woman with a very thick accent, claiming that I'd been selected to receive a $7000 US Government grant because I had no bankruptcies and no criminal record. She claimed that it was not a scam, so I let her continue, and she asked if I would like the money deposited into my checking or savings account or receive a debit card/MasterCard/Visa card instead. I refused to give any account information on the phone, saying it would have to be in the form of a MasterCard or Visa card. She hung up then.

I got a call from a girl who said her name was Anna **. She had a thick accent as well. She told me that I was selected to receive $7,800 and I would have to go to a Western Union to pick it up and to bring $200. She gave me a phone number to call her back at **. She said my confirmation number is **.

On 12/22/11 at 1:02pm, I received a call from a lady with a heavy middle eastern accent. She said the US government had selected 1,700 people from across the country to receive a $7,000 grant and I was one selected. She new my name, address and phone number. I asked how she got my phone number since it was unlisted, and she said I was selected by the US government and the grant would not need to be repaid. She provided me with an approval #R33355 and phone number to call 202-580-8543. I immediately suspected a scam and did not call but looked up government scam info on the internet.

I received a call last Friday (December 16, 11) almost as soon as I walked in my house from work. The call was from Tacoma, WA **. Due to a very thick Indian or Pakistani accent, all I could make out the phone number I was to call for a $7,000 grant. I was told to call Catherine ** at **. I called but there was no answer. I forgot about it for a couple of days and finally did so on December 21. When she told me it was a government grant I began to wonder which government because of her thick Middle-Eastern accent too. She told me all about going to a Western Union and then calling her before I step foot inside and pay $190 the processing fee. As soon as I heard "processing fee" I got online, googled "scams involving grants and western union", and this site came up. I already knew it was too good to be true but I'm glad this site verified it.

I was contacted, and I was told I would get a government grant for $7,000.00.

These number keeps calling me saying I can receive a government grant for $7,000 if I send them $120 and go to a Western Union and send it and I will receive my grant. Is this a scam or what? Please let me know.

I contacted Grant-money-guide.com through their phone number 866-974-0076. The purchase date is 11/18/11. This company charges my account $32.97 that I did not authorize, and this caused me not to be able to get maintanance medication for a chronic medical condition. I contacted them three times requesting for a refund. I have received no response nor refund.

I received a call from 414-677-7137, informing me I was chosen to receive a $7,000 federal Grant from the Department of Treasury in Washington, DC. The female had a thick Indian accent, and I could hardly understand her, and provided a confirmation number of MB3319, and a new number to call 202-621-0149 for a Sean **, the senior account manager, then asked if I wanted to place the money in my bank, or on my Visa/MC. I asked for cash, and if they could drop it off at the address they quoted me.

The man Sean ** answered the phone, and I could not understand him, due to his very thick accent. I told him this, and he proceeded to explicitly scream at me. It's hilarious that someone would fall for this kind of scam. I would never give any of my personal information over the phone, and if the US government was going to send me that kind of cash, it would show up in the mail, in check form. I hope nobody really falls for this scam. It's sad that some people desperate for money, would fall for it. I didn't give anything but time, which is precious to me.

I received a call from a man with a funny accent who told me that I was just awarded a grant for $7,000. He gave me a code and phone number to call. He told me that I could have it sent to me by Western Union or my bank. I chose Western Union because he said they will send cash. I was not going to give my bank account information to anybody. I called the number and the lady on the phone verified that it was me and told me the same thing. I immediately got on the computer to see that these are scam artists.

Omg! Let me tell you how I fell for this scam and I felt it in my bones that it wasn't legit. They called me with the same lines saying I had been approved for this human health service grant but the crazy thing is, I had applied about 6 or 7 months ago for some government assisted grants but never heard anything back. So I took this call as a response but at the same time I was leery of it. I am going through some financial problems right now trying to keep my house out of foreclosure so this money was so much needed!

I was praying to God that this was legit as the man was telling me about it and how I qualified for it. Well to make a long story short, I gave this man my banking information. I know this is stupid, stupid and stupid! As soon as I hung up the phone, I knew I had been played. I called the number, they gave me back 202 area code and of course, Sophie didn't answer. I immediately went online to check my account and all my funds were still there. So I called my bank and had to freeze my account and open up a new one, but that God I was able to do that because if not, I would have been in a world of hurt. It is my payday week too, so if anyone calls you with this **, please don't fall for it like my dumb ** did.

This afternoon (Dec 7, 2011), I received a call from a heavy accent man (India), who stated that I was awarded $7,000, for being a good bill payer, and not having to file for bankruptcy. I took his confirmation code and manager's number to see what was what. What it was, was a scam. I went to a Western Union outlet, and called him back, and for $190 he would tell me how to get $7,000. I told him I would think about it, while my daughter and I laughed at such a stupid plan. I had both calls on speaker, so my daughter heard both calls. So if you're one of the 1,700 picked for this award, beware!

I was called by a woman with an accent who told me that I had been selected for a $7,000 grant from the U.S. Government. She then offered the reason for being selected as that I pay my bills on time and had never filed for bankruptcy. I was wary, but thought that I would check it out because if it was legitimate, the money would come in handy for school. She gave me a code and then a phone number that I was told to call back immediately. She asked how I would prefer to receive the money, either by credit card, bank routing number or cash. I told her cash because I wasn't about to give any routing information.

When I called the number to "receive more information," it was answered by another woman with some accent, most likely Indian. Now I was very suspicious because they couldn't understand me well and kept accidentally hitting buttons on their side of the phone line. She told me that because I wanted cash, I needed to go down to the nearest Western Union to get a money transfer form and that I would be charged a one-time fee from the U.S. Government of $200 to receive the grant, which the government would take and give towards a charity that would benefit other countries including India, Afghanistan, and some other country.

When I got to the Western Union, I was to call this woman back so she could tell me exactly what to do. This was very unprofessional sounding and I obviously wasn't going to do it, so I asked her what the government wanted the fee for and she just told me the exact same speech again. I asked her if I could get some sort of confirmation of this transaction or for receiving the grant or anything on paper, and she didn't even know what I meant. She just told me that it was from the Health and Human Services. So I hung up and then looked this all up online and found many other people with the same scenarios. Hope this helps someone keep their $200! I just wanted to share the situation so others can see that it is something out there trying to get money.

I just received a call. The guy with strong Indian accent said to me that I will receive around $7000, because I was randomly selected to grab this money from the government because I have been a good citizen (no debts, no criminal records, no felony etc.). He encouraged me to call to this number: 202-6575-5339. And the next guy asked me for my account and routing number to do the transfer and I did it. The next step, he sent me to the nearest Western Union office to pay a fee ($210.00) to do the wire transfer, so in this point I noted his business. I told him: "Look, since I have 10 months without job, we can do this. Take this $210.00 from my grant, send me the rest ($6,790), and for sure we will be the happiest people in this world." After that, he turned angry. So, I told him: "Next time, call to your mom there in India and make the same business plan."

A woman with a thick Indian accent called from Los Angeles (318-433-3442) stating that I was selected to receive a $7,000 grant from the US Government. She knew my name, phone number, and address. She stated I was selected from a group of 1,500 people in my area, because I paid my bills on time, and had never filed for bankruptcy. She then asked for any kind of bank account number I had. When I pressed her for questions, she became extremely agitated, and stated several times in an annoyed tone "you are wasting my time". I told her I was looking for my checkbook, as I was Googling this scam. Sure enough, I found others who have been in the same situation. I told her she was a scammer, and should be ashamed of herself and hung up. She called me back and tried to convince me again. I hung up. When I started getting angry, I tried calling her back. Sure enough, the number had been disconnected. Be careful out there.

I recent received the same call December 3, 2011. They stated I was recently selected to receive a federal grant of up to $7,000. I began to ask questions on how I was picked. The lady with a very thick Middle Eastern accent said 1500 people in my area have been chosen to receive anywhere between $1,000 - $15,000. So I went along with her whole thing. She then gave me a number to call (202) 621-0067 and gave me a confirmation number and told me not to give it out to anyone. So I called the number she gave and a guy named Jeremy ** answered and asked for my information which I didn't give. He then said I would need to go to the nearest Western Union and donate $210.00 to receive my $7,000. He told me once I donated my 1% of the $7,000 he was going to give me my confirmation number to receive my $7,000. I didn't do any of this by the way and I received another call from the lady who called me the first time. She forgot to block her number this time. Here it is 591-500-97217. I hope this information helps you in the future.

I received the same call this morning that I was going to receive $7,000 as soon as I went and paid $210.00 by Western Union to some charity. I would have to do this before I would receive my $7,000. I am a single mother with 3 children and seeking employment. These scammers have the nerve to call and get my hopes up about free money from the U.S.Government after I go and send money to some other damn country. We have problems here, why would I send money somewhere else for other people to get their pockets fat.

I am so glad I found this site and read some of the same things that I just experienced. I received call from heavy foreign accent telling me I had been selected for $7000 grant from the us govt. I asked a lot of questions because it just sounded too good to be true and thanks to this website, I now know that it was. I did try to call the other number **. A heavy accented woman answered and asked for the confirmation code, which I gave and then she asked for my name. I said to her that she probably already had that info. She said that I was wasting her time if I didn't give her my name. So I did and then, she hung up. I immediately went to the internet for info and found this site. Thank goodness I have not lost anything, but I do wish someone would do something about these scams to keep others from getting hurt.

I received a telephone call from an Indian-speaking man telling me that I had been randomly selected to receive a government grant in the amount of $1,000.00. He then asked how I would like to receive this money, via direct deposit to my bank, credit card, or debit card. I told him I would not disclose any personal bank account or credit/debit card info. He then gave me a code # AR001 and asked me to contact Kathleen **, his supervisor at **. Out of curiosity, I called the number and there was no answer. It did not even go into voice mail. There was no consequence, I had no intention of being scammed!

A woman with a very heavy accent (Hispanic perhaps) called. She said that she was with the U.S. Government, calling from Washington D.C. (although my phone showed that she was calling from Rock Hill, SC -1-803-327-7542). She claims that the government did a demographic survey in my area and chose 17,000 people in good standing with no late payments or bankruptcies to receive a $7,000 grant that would never need to be paid back. It sounded very fishy, and at first I thought it was an automated call, but it definitely was a human and she sounded liked she was reading right from a script.

First I got a call from a lady saying I had received a free federal grant from the government. She asked me how I would like it deposited. So I gave her my debit card information and she verified my name and address. Then she gave me my approval code and told me to call Sophie ** and a number to reach her at. When I called Sophie **, she informed me that I got a federal grant of $7,000 tax free and that I would not have to pay this money back. All I need to do was a one-time application fee of $130 and that it would go to a charity in India. So I sent the money and she said the bank would be calling me. When I got a call from the bank it was from 646-**. I can't remember the lady's name, but she said I would have to do a security deposit of $389 and that it would be refunded to me in minutes.

I told her I didn't have that kind of money and that I could try to come up with the money the next day. So she and Sophie both called me the next day. I told them I could only come up with $350 and they said that was fine and I should go to the Western Union. So the bank lady kept calling me until I got to the Western Union and stayed on the phone with me until I sent the money. After she confirmed the number, she said to call my debit card in about 20 minutes and the grant would be deposited. I had already asked if it was a scam and informed her that you had recently lost out on $800.

She had informed me that it wasn't a scam and even asked me about my kids. She asked what I was going to do with my grant money and was very polite and conversational. I had even let her know that I used my rent and light money for this security deposit. I asked her if I had any problems, could I give her a call back? She reassured me that I could. She also informed me that if it was a scam, she wouldn't be calling from the same number and I wouldn't be able to call her back. So after we hung up I gave it some time and my grant never came in. I called her and Sophie back but nobody ever answered.

I lost out on $480. That was money I had for rent, light and my kids. Now I am broke and don't know how I am going to get my bills paid. This was supposed to be a great opportunity for me and my kids. I have two babies and one on the way. Now I don't know what I am going to do. I'm in desperate need of some help a.s.a.p.

Grants that the government is keeping for us to take? They charge me $1.94 fee to start, I give them my credit cart number and then I notice that they were going to charge me $59.99 a month. Right now I am trying to cancel the order, I hope it works.

Based on an advertisement, I visited a US grant website that uses the American flag and looks official. It offered a list of grant information for $2.97. I didn't think I would find what I needed to help fund my small business but thought it was worth $3.00 to see. I received an email confirming the $2.97. Then my account was charged $0.09, $57.61, and $1.73. I called the 800 number, spoke to Ella and requested a refund saying this was unauthorized. She said I needed to send an email to grants.refunds@gmail.com with my username in order to receive a refund. I followed these directions and received an email from Gail saying that the $2.97 was a 24-hour trial and I had to cancel to avoid further charges.

I did find that this information is on the site but it is a lighter font that isn't obvious. Second, it is deceptive because their confirmation email doesn't mention anything. Third, the amounts charged don't match what the fine print reads. These charges overdrew my bank account and I am now working to get my overdraft fees returned and the amount put back from the credit card processor.

I received a call from a number that came up to be private on my phone and they told me that I was selected to receive $7,000 because I paid my bills on time and I wasn't in debt. Then I was asked how would I like this monetary donation to be distributed and they got my card number. And I was instructed to call "Jennifer" at **. "Jennifer" instructed me to call her in the morning at 11 am because the bank was closed. But after I got my family's opinion, I canceled my debit card about 20 minutes later.

I would like for these scammers to be prosecuted. There are many gangs, scammers, thieves, and launderers out here who wipe people's bank accounts and homes clean daily. Some even go so far to threaten others. I hope justice is served immediately.

I have had similar/same experience as others. I received a call from "Sophia" of "US Government Grant Department" from a local phone number here in Twin Cities stating $7,000 was mine, due to paying taxes on time, no bankruptcy, criminal record, blah blah blah. I asked why the phone number was local, and she said because she was calling from a computer, and that's why it came up with a local number. (**! I called the number back, but it was a dead end! No calls being taken at that number, or some ** like that.) I called the number she gave me to claim the $7,000, (202-621-0357), and got "Andrew".

I provided him the claim number "Sophia" gave me. I could hardly understand him. I questioned their authenticity, and told him I thought it was a scam. He told me I was "disturbing" him, and then hung up. PO'd and wanting to nail him to a cross, I called him back, and peppered him with questions which really ticked him off (LOL!). At which point, he said, "you're wasting my time, and really disturbing me. I need you to hang up now". So I hung on the line longer, and wasted more of his time. I asked him for a website, or someone who I could understand (he has a very thick Indian accent), to verify his offer as being true. He gave me **. I went online, and there's no such thing. He hung up on me again, so I called him back to try to piss him off more, but my call wasn't picked up.

There is no consequence, other than me losing faith in some of human kind. I hope these folks fry.

I got a call on the 25th of November 2011 stating that I had won a "cash grant" of $7,000 dollars and that I had been selected among thousands of individuals in my city. First of all, the lady that called had a very thick accent knowing my full name address and said I had won which was weird because I have never applied for anything that has to do with banks and then the tricky part she said, "All you have to do is go to your nearest Western Union," and I hung up the phone.

Today (11/28/11), they called again. The same lady telling me all this story again so I decided to go along with it. She gave me an I.D number and a phone number starting with the area(202) which I believe is located in Washington. She then said to call this number so they can give me further instructions. I later called the number and this other lady with the same accent told me first her name was Carol ** and said I had to go to Western Union take a valid California I.D and $240.00 dollar plus $10.00 dollars service fee and made it very clear to me that the Western Union company had nothing to do with this (weird). When I asked for her name again, she said her name was Caroline **(she had forgotten the first name).

So I went to W.U and got a form to send money and came back home. I am gonna give them a call to keep playing along see what they say. Okay, I called back and Carol answered again. She told me how to fill out the green form detail by detail. The money was going to be send out to India because according to them, it would be cheaper for the U.S government. The person it would be send out to would be Sheetall **. When she asked me for the confirmation number in the receipt, I just made on up and gave it to her twice. I guess she logged in to some W.U website to verify the transfer and when she asked for the confirmation number once again because it was not coming up I simply asked her if she thought we were some kind of fools and that I had the conversation recorded (which I do) and the police with me (which was a lie). I told her I had seen how they had scammed various people and cursed at her so the lady freaked out and hung up I tried calling her again but the line was not going in.

I was called this morning by a man with an Indian accent saying I was selected for a government grant of $7,000. They knew my name, address, where I went to school, so I went along with it. I asked a couple of questions because I was blind sided by the thought about paying off my college short term loans, rent and fixing my mechanical problems. The man told me I just needed to put down a $200 deposit at Western Union and then I would be receiving the grant. I didn't think anything of it, because I've never received a grant from the government other than for college, but was confused as why I would have to send it to India (First Ignored Red Flag.) But being pretty blinded by the thought of having $7,000, I went to Western Union, transferred the money. I was then told I would be put on hold until he told me to call another man to discuss what goes on next.

I didn't think anything of it, not like the obvious if he actually worked for the government why he couldn't transfer the call or why I needed to deposit money. But I call the next guy, named Harry ** and talked with him. He gave me the number to be put on the Western Union form to receive the money and I did everything like he asked, gave the form to the lady who worked there, and then was told there was no money on the account (Big red flag). I called the man back, explained what happened and he said, after putting me on hold to see what the problem was, that I would have to pay state taxes if I would like to receive the grant (Giant red flag) and so I got upset, explain that as a college student I only had the $130 I deposited and didn't have anymore money to give, that the grant was going to help me pay for things I needed to pay off and if he could understand my position he would try to help me.

Of course he didn't understand and then proceeded to tell me that there was no deadline to the grant. I asked for the deposit back and he said since he had put it with my grant money, and since the grant was being held by the state I couldn't get it back and they couldn't adjust it to where I would receive it back. I then asked if I were to pay the "state taxes" where would I pay them? He responded by saying I would pay at Western Union and to call him back when I was ready to do so. I hung up.

I received a telephone call today from a person named Andrew representing the U.S. Government's Grants Department. This person spoke with a heavy Indian accent (red flag). Not being able to clearly understand him, I asked to speak with someone who spoke better English. Simon ** took the call. He told me I was entitled to $7000 due to paying my taxes on time (I have not had to pay taxes in years--red flag) and no bankruptcy claims in the past 6 months (I have never filed bankruptcy--red flag). All I had to do is go to the closest Western Union and call him back (red flag) and he would transfer the $7000 in my name. I was advised not to speak with anyone else about this (red flag), especially Western Union; Western Union could charge taxes and other fees for the large money transfer. I would have to pay $99 for the transfer (red flag). They asked for my cell number (red flag). I gave them my work fax number so I would not be harassed after hours. During the conversation, I was surfing the web for any "like" fraud complaints.

Yesterday, November 25, 2011, I received a call from a heavy Indian accented woman who told me that I was to be awarded a grant of $7000. I was told then that in order to get it, I only needed to pay $200 and call the number **** and that it was the Federal Reserve Bank in Washington, D.C. I have been expecting a grant since I applied for one back in December of 2010 and was thinking that this was part of it so I paid the $200. When I called the number above, it took me forever to get it.

When I finally did get someone, they put me on hold for about 5 minutes and told me that they needed 10 percent of the grant in order to pay city and state taxes of Mississippi. This morning they called again asking me when I will pay the extra money. I told them I wanted to cancel the grant and wanted my $200 back when I found out from my sister that it was a scam. She showed me on the internet. They told me that I would have to call the original number of the people to get a refund which is ****. If this is real, which I now doubt, then I have made a bad mistake. I just do not want to make any more of these mistakes again.

I received a call from a woman with thick accent telling me I had been selected by federal government to be awarded $7,000. I told her that's great just send me the money. She became frustrated with me and began telling about how I need to go to Western Union and pay some amount and follow all these instructions. I told her again to just send me any money the federal government wanted to give me but she kept explaining how the instructions that I must follow to get the money. Then she gave me a phone number with area code 202 and told me to call that number and I said sure and we hung up.

After a week passed she called again and was rude and hung up on me. Today I get a call from a man starting the same pitch. I told him also to send me the money and he yelled into the phone, "I'm sending you the money now to you" and hung up on me. The last two calls were from unknown numbers. How do we stop these calls and how did they get my phone number?

Much like many of the others here. Today, 21 November 2011, I received a call from a man with a heavy East Indian accent, who told me that I had been selected to receive a non-refundable (his term) government grant in the amount of $7,800. (Red flag #1) For this money, I was to go to Western Union (Red flag #2), and bring three things with me: my photo ID, my cell phone, and $200 cash, so that they could "verify my signature" (Which does not cost $200 - Red flag #3).

When I told him that it sounded like a scam, he became indignant, and assured me that it was not a scam. I told him that I had never heard of the government giving grants to anyone who had not specifically applied for them, and he merely reiterated that I had been selected to receive the grant. He had me take down his name, "John **," his employee number, "**," the file number for my grant, "**," and the call back number, "202.657.5152"

He told me to go to Western Union, to call 202.657.5152. Once I got there, and a supervisor would walk me through the process of sending the $200, which he assured me would be returned to me within two minutes, following which they would walk me through the process of getting the promised $7800. I took down all of the information, which, since I used to work in credit card fraud prevention, I already intended to turn over to the authorities.

Do not fall for this scam. These people make their livings by defrauding people who can ill afford it. Since I did not follow their instructions, I have lost nothing but a little time.

Today, November 19th 2011, I first received a phone call from (404)965-1260. The man who had a heavy accent told me that the government had selected me to receive grant money for the amount of $7000. He said that I need to contact his manager at this number (202)621-0357 and the man also gave me a confirmation number of ** and told me to go to Western Union to receive the money.

When I called the number at (202)621-0357, the man told me to go to Western Union. I told him that I did not have a way to Western Union today. He wanted me to go Monday and when I ask for the man's name, he told me his name was Sam **. I tried to confirm the man's name and he called me a bitch and told me not to call this number ever again and then hung up on me. I called him back and told him that he need some customer service training and that they were either some kind of scam. He said that he was not the man who had cussed me out and told me that his name is Andrew **. He told me that they were not a scam and still wanted me to go to Western Union on Monday.

I continued to complain about the man who had called me a bitch; the man then apologized and said that they were getting ready to close. I looked online to see if there were similar scams of this nature. I discovered that there were a lot of scams like this in your website.

I received a phone call on approximately 11/7/11 from a man with a very thick Indian accent who informed me I had been approved for the Federal Government Grant I'd applied online for about a month ago.The amount was for $10,000.00. He told me my name, address, phone number and social security number. He then stated that I would have to pay $100 to be donated to a charity of my choice .I told him I had no money that day and he told me to borrow it. I said I couldn't, and that I wouldn't have any money until 11/16. Lo and behold, on 11/16/11, I received a call back from the same man asking if I had purchased the Western Union go cash card yet? I told him I was unaware I had to do this.

So my ** went and bought this card. I then called him back. He asked me to scratch off the strip on the back of the card and read him the numbers, which I did. Then he told me to call the bank manager, a Mark **, and he would tell me what I needed to do to get this "grant" deposited into my checking account within 30 minutes. Mr ** sounded amazingly just like Jerry ** (the 1st guy) and told me I'd have to send them an additional $350 for 'PPI',or 'product payment insurance', which was to ensure the funds were wired into my account and not someone else's.

I told him I didn't have any more money, and the $100 I just sent them was my rent money. He said they can't deposit the funds without this additional $350. I told him, "Well, then forget it and send my $100 back." He then said he'd be mailing me a "cancellation letter" which I would have to sign and return, and as soon as they received it back from me, the money would then be refunded to my bank account! I said okay. I have reported this to the FBI, both in a call and on their website called www.IC3.gov.

The 1st time I called back this number in Washington DC, it said it was disconnected. But I dialed again and Jerry ** answered but didn't actually answer my call! However, I could hear his entire side of the conversation he was having with another potential "victim". He got the person's name, address and phone number, even his bank account information , and heard Jerry ** speaking with Western Union and he was sending the money to a "Vijay **" in Delhi, India.

Please don't fall victim to this scam like I did! Western Union is investigating this and will be refunding my money when the investigation is complete. The numbers these 'employees' of their "Federal Reserve Bank" in Washington, DC are as follows: (202)446-0249 and (202)446-0243.

A gentleman called me this morning, with a heavy Indian accent. He told me, I had been chosen to receive a government grant for $7,000, which would be put on my debit card. I immediately felt this was a scam, so I gave them the number of a Green Dot disposable debit card, with no balance on it. I was asked a few questions, and given a confirmation number. Then I was told to call another person, who would release the funds.

When I could not get through on the number, supposedly because of technical difficulties, a lady with a heavy Indian accent called me back. Then I was told that in order to receive the grant, I needed to send $210 to someone through Western Union, and as soon as they receive the money, they would deposit my grant within 45 minutes. I told the woman I could not afford this, and she wanted me to set up a day in the future, when I could afford it, and she would call me back on that day. I immediately got off the phone, and started filing a complaint.

i received a phone call from this number, telling me I will receive $7,000 of federal grant money, if i send a one time fee of $130 via Western Union.

I was at work when I received a call from a man with a heavy Indian accent just like many of you that have previously posted. He went through the whole song and dance about the tax-free, non-repayable $7,000 grant. While he was talking, I was googling. He told me my name, address, and phone number. He asked my age, in which I replied. He informed me that he would be giving me an account number and a phone number to call. He never did. I found this site while he was talking and I began to question him, "Why did you call me unknown."

He replied, "I'm making an internet call." I asked, "Why do I need to give you my account info? I get my income tax in a check." His reply was that they had been receiving complaints about the checks not reaching the intended receiver. I told him this was a scam. He replied that he was not going to force me to take free money and if I did not want it, then I should just hang up. I don't mind if I do and I hung up. It's a shame that these people have nothing better to do than to try and take my/your hard earned money. These are truly praying times.

I've had the same experience as most of the complaints I've read. First, a call from a woman claiming to be with US Gov. Grants wanting to send me my $7,000 out of 1,500 people. She asked how old I was, I wouldn't give the answer. She told me write down a claim number, and call another number. I called, but the phone was busy. I received a callback from some Indian man. He told me, before I receive, I need to give any one of my account numbers. I wouldn't give my information, so they hung up. I called the number again, and left messages that I was going to report this scam. I sure hope that in this economy, people are not so desperate as to believe they will receive free money.

I spoke with this gentlemen whose accent wasn't all that good and he said that I was chosen to receive a grant for $7000. And I was thinking everything was good until he said I had to send in $120 to some made up charity. At the time, I didn't know it was made up. He instructed me that I would have to send it thru a Western Union to some solider across the seas either to India or Asia. He said that he worked for the U.S Government. I sent it to someone called Guddu Rajbhar.

And once I sent it, he said someone from the U.S. Treasury Department of New York would be transferring my grant money into my account. Within an hour later some foreign woman called me saying that she was the manager of the bank she called from a 646-651-4673 number stating that i have to send in $389 for my secure deposit. And I was like okay, this doesn't sound right .So I did some research and called the real number to The Treasury Department Of New York that number is 484-678-7380, and come to find out she was impersonation a woman called Katherine ** trying to get me to send that money. So please be careful if it sounds too good then it is.

On November 11, 2011, at 5:15pm, I received a phone call from the number 314-629-5641. The Indian ascent lady told me that I was chosen to receive $7,000 as Government grant and I didn't had to pay any taxes for them. After she gave me the money approval number she told me to call 206-317-1390 and ask for Albert, account manager, in order to claim this money in visa debit card. I did not proceed further.

I was contacted by someone saying that I got a free grant and I was picked out of 1,500 people in my little town to get a $7,000 gov. grant; that I will never have to pay it back or have to ever pay taxes on it but they wanted me to send them by Western Union $190, a processing fee. I would receive it back within 15 minutes; that all I had to do was go to the nearest Western Union and call them to get all the information to wire them the processing fee. The fee is to do a name search to ensure that I was the person who qualified for the grant. They told me if it was not done today then I must not want the free money from the government.

Then when I told them I did not have the $190 to send them, they said well whatever I can sure find someone else who can and will send the small processing fee to get the $7,000. Then they proceeded to ask me if I had a job. When I told them yes, they said, "Well what was the problem? Why was I worried about $190 then? I simply told them that I have a real job and I work very hard for my money and I will not just send someone that kind of cash that I do not know; that I did not believe what he was telling me; that it sounded like a scam; that I would contact my local sheriffs office and find out more from them.

Then he tells me to shut up. I did not know what I was talking about. I am sorry but any real business would not talk to people this way and I told him that as well much less a federal agent/employee and that he was very rude for being a government official, if he was one. He told me that I was very stupid for being an American. He is trying to give me free money and I am too dumb to accept it. Then I said, "Well, this really sounds like a scam to me now," and he cussed me and said, "Fine. Be a stupid person, and do not except free money. Shows how much of an American you are, that you are not willing to take help from your own government."

Then I said, "Well, if the American government wants to help me, tell them," I said, "to have an American call me." This in return got me hung up on. I don't know why. When I tried to contact his higher up by the name of Anny-- yes that is how he spelled it, or I could have spoken with a Hethar-- spelled his way again, they would not take any of my phone calls. So yeah now it really sounds like a scam even more. The government will not give you free money. You have to earn it! Something needs to be done with this because I am sure someone somewhere will send them money. So federal government, please help us, the people of the USA, not the Middle Easterners who are trying to steal our hard earned dollar!

Well just like the woman stated on her blog, this was exactly the same way it happened to her. I was contacted by a Hispanic guy by the name of Francis **, who told me about the grant. Today, I called the so called "American Claims Department" through their phone (202)559-7624, at least that's what the Latino woman also known as, Kelley ** said the business was.

Now, they want me to go to Western Union to send $259.00 to get a free grant. Our Government needs to step in and put a stop to this **. Well I'm not falling for "the Banana in the Tailpipe" this time.

I received a call at 7:47 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2011 from an unknown name and number. The Indian/Middle Eastern guy proceeded to tell me that I was picked from a group of 15,000 people and the city I lived in to be awarded a 7,000 dollar grant from the US government. I, of course, did not believe this. But I wanted to play along to see what this scam was all about. He already knew my name, address, phone number, and he then asked me my age. He told me he needed either a credit card, bank account, or pre-paid card number to transfer the money. I asked him for a check. He said they couldn't do it that way. So, I gave him a pre-paid card number. He gave me a confirmation number and a phone number and told me to call Steve at **. He told me that if it was busy, keep trying until I got through.

I called several times and it was busy, and then I finally got through. I told Steve who I was. He told me I had to call back the next day at 11:30 a.m. because the banks were closed and their office was closing soon too. So, I called back today at noon and he proceeded to tell me that all I had to do was go to a Western Union and pay $210.00 to receive my money. He repeated my card number to me (it was the wrong number). I told him he was a ** liar. I said: "If the government wants to give you grant money, first you have to apply for it. Then, they will give you a check. They don't just wire you money for no reason. And they don't ask you to "pay" to get the grant money."

He then started arguing with me and yelling at me. I said, "I am a student right now, so I know how grants work." He then said, "Well, fine. We will cancel your grant then." And then he hung up on me. These people should all rot in ** for what they are trying to do to us poor Americans. Our economy is already messed up. No one has any money. And they are trying to steal from us by getting our hopes up. I hope the government does something to put these people out of business.

On 10/10/11 I got a phone call from a Kim **. She said that she was calling me from Washington DC. She told me that I was chosen to receive a grant, and that I must call 202 559-6991. When I called, I got this man who has a British accent his name was Steven ** from Florida State Financials. He said that I was chosen to receive a grant and what was I going to do with the money. I told him my situation; he said the government is only giving out 50,000 and that the only thing i had to do is to pay $480 to a Rachell ** at *** Miami Fl. I fell for it . I gave him a cashier's check and sent it to the above address . He said that iIwould get my check hand delivered by a government official. I feel so stupid. I can't believe people out there would hurt people like this. Something has to be done about this. I am very angry and hurt.

I received a phone call the other day form a guy with a heavy accent saying that I was 1 out of 15,000 people to receive a $7,000 grant from the government for paying my taxes on time and never filed bankruptcy. So I went along with him and asked tons of questions and asked how I knew this wasn't a scam. He then told me some info and then told me I just needed to pay $120.00 for bank transfer fees and he needed my account or card number. So I gave them my card number then the guy gave me a confirmation number and told me to call 202-905-0682 and speak with James **. So I called it, he proceed to explain the whole thing again to me and then told me to call him once I got to a western union.

So once I got home I decided to look all this up and looked his name up and that's when i read all the reviews of people they have tried to scam! I canceled my bank card and called the James ** back and said I was at the western union place when actually I was at home. He then proceeded to tell me how to fill it out and who to make it out to. I then asked why he was trying to scam people and that I had looked them up on the internet, he was like you're lying and so on... So I decided to call him the next day and asked him once again why he is scamming people and he said he isn't. I said you're lying and you need to get a real job. He then said, I have a pistol and will kill you from where I am at laughing. I was like whatever and told him once again to get a real job! And that I would call him everyday. lol! People do not fall for this!

I received a call today from an unknown number. The guy on the phone told me that I was chosen to receive $7000 for paying my taxes and not having a criminal record. Told me that I could only get the money if I planned to use it to pay bills or do home improvements but if I planned to use it to buy drugs or gamble, I could not receive it. He had my name, old address, and phone number. It was not my married name. He went through the info with me and asked for my checking or savings account number. And when I said I didn't have one, he asked for my credit, debt, or prepaid card number. Again I told him I didn't have one and he asked me if I could ask a friend or family member to let me use their account number so I can get my money in 24 minutes.

I told him I didn't have anyone I could ask and he asked me how I would like to receive my money. I told him check or money order and he said they could not send it check or money order that they only deposit the money in my account or send it by western union. He then gave me my grant number and a phone number to call his supervisor, anni **. And yes that is how he spelled it. I called and she went back over the same info he did and than explained the same thing the guy did. After putting me on hold for like 5 minutes she got back on the phone and started talking about charities and said that they would donate $99 in my name to a country that has been devastated by a national disaster and that I would receive a package letting me know how my money is being put towards it. Then told me to go to my nearest western union and call her when I was there.

Said that I had to pay the $210 they charged them to send the money. And here was the real red flag, said that I couldn't tell the people at western union what I was being sent the money for or else I would lose, $1057 for my $7000 as a penalty. She than asked me how long it would take me to get to western union. I told her 30-45 minutes. I then went online to look this up. I found so many complaints about this. This was not the only site that has them. While I was reading some of the post on this site (10 mins after I hung up with her) she called back. I hit the ignore button on my cell phone and she left a message. Just after I listened to the message, the unknown number called back. I really think after seeing all the post on this site that someone should do something about it. I didn't send them any money but some one will or has. Otherwise they would have stopped by now. The government needs to look into this. It is after all their name they are using.

Not only are these government grants scams, so are loans you may have applied for online! Do they give out all your info. after you apply for something online? That's all **! The Internet is totally ruined for me.

On October 29th, 2011, I got a call from some Indian person with a very weird # **. He said his name is Richard (fake name by the way). Well, Richard said I was approved for a loan of $1500. And all I needed to do was send a security deposit of $70. I told Richard I didn't have the money to send. I was going to hang up (which I should have done), but Richard then told me he was going to send $2000. Richard then told me he is calling me back within 30 minutes.

So I borrowed money from a friend. Richard called back on time with another weird #. Richard asked if I had the money. I told him yes. He then asked if there was a Western Union near by. I told him yes. Richard then told me he's going to stay on the line with me. I got to a Western Union. I sent the money to Kamal ** to India! That should have been where my scam clue was, but I was thinking more about my bills so that it didn't come to my mind that it was a ** scam! Richard then asked if I sent the money. I told him yes. He then told me that his manager will call me back with the control #s in 15 minutes. He gave me his manager's name Ben **. Richard then gave me a 343# to call his manager, then hung up. And like an **, I waited. One hour later, there was still no call from Ben **! So I called that #. A voice mail came on and what I heard on that voice mail was so horrible and disgusting! I was so angry! And I didn't know what to do but kick myself. How could that person do that? Its so evil! Well, what he did will get back at him, and I pray God has no mercy on all the Indian people that are in all the scams in this world.

I received a call today confirming that I have been selected out of thousands of people and won a government grant money of 7000. Of course, I already knew that it was a scam, so I continued through the process only providing my email, name, home phone, and address. This lady (a couple actually) with a very deep Indian accent, wanted to know if I had a debit card and I said no. And if I wanted it cash or sent to my bank account. And I said cash. Then she goes off saying, "Oh...Sorry, maybe I could send it to you through Western Union, do you know any place near you? '' I said no. "You should get a bank account as soon as possible and give me your number so I could send you the money". Then she says once I find out, call her and she'll send me the money. I hung up after asking for her name, Michelle, and number.

I checked online and it was definitely from Washington DC, but the number was called from a satellite. After I hung up, I called again this time, using my cell phone (used my house phone earlier). And then, a guy picked up! The same exact person who tried to scam me last the time (aha!). Right there, I wanted to cuss the ** out of him. But then I just stood quiet after all and hung up. Maybe I should just report their number since I still have the chance to. But I don't know if it'll work since they don't really live in the USA. Because I know for a fact that there are many out there that may be in this exact position as I was and I don't want anything happening to anyone.

I received a phone call from a man with a heavy accent (Indian accent). He said I was randomly selected for a government grant because I paid my taxes and stuff like that. He told me the 2 ways to receive the 7000 grant is by bank or by credit or debit card. Being the gullible person I am, I kinda fell for it and went for the debit card way. I lost my voice so I can't speak properly. He was getting mad because I didn't get the debit card number right. So I handed the phone to my cousin who gave him my card number while I search this up and came to this site. I then asked for the phone before he gets any more info. He then asked for the expiration date on the card and I told him I couldn't hear him and hung up. He called me back 5 times before I shut off my phone for 3 minutes thinking he might stop by then. I turned on my phone and he was still trying to reach me for my expiration date. These people need to be stopped! I'm glad I didn't fully fell for this.

I just got a call (area code 623) from a man with a very thick Indian accent claiming I was 1 of 15,000 that was chosen to receive $6,000 from the US Government and my grant approval number was "**". He knew my name, address, zip code and obviously, my phone number. After he verified all of my information, he asked me what I was going to spend it on and proceeded to explain that he needed a bank account number. I don't have one. Then, he needed a credit card, visa or any other money holding card number. I don't have these either. He insisted that I get one on the next week or two and he'll give me a call back so that I can "receive my free money". I immediately tried to call the number back, but it was constantly dropped and would not go through. So I checked out scams on "government funded grants" and here I am.

I received a similar call like others did on this website. An individual with a really thick Indian accent tried to tell me that I have been given a grant for $5200 from an application I filled in back on December 15, 2009. He had my personal information (Name, old email, mailing address) and he called me on my cell phone on a Saturday! I looked up the caller ID, and it was from an invalid area code (653) ** . The number that he wanted me to call back to was in fact in DC (where the Department of Health & Human Services is located), but it is a land line and probably a direct link to a satellite phone to connect back to India. My biggest concern is that this person has my personal information from when I did fill in a college grant application, and I really want to find out how that happened.

I received a call through my mobile phone from an "Unknown Number", from a male with an Indian accent stating he was from a U.S. Government Grant organization. He said I was entitled to a $7,000 grant, free, non-repayable, as well as 700 other people. He asked for my name, address and zip. He wanted to know how I would spend the money.He gave me a control number and told me to call **. "202" is a Washington DC area code.

I did not return the call due to the heavy background noise, other telephones, & voices as well. I did not provide any other personal information. There was a brief, slight delay with complete silence between our sentences, which indicates in my opinion, satellite communications with a foreign country.

I received this email: My name is attorney John ** and as you know I have you listed as the primary suspect in question on a case being downloaded in County Today at time. The nature of my email is to ascertain your attorney information so that I can be able to fax the affidavits to your attorney before the allegations are pressed. Do you have that information handy?

Now if you would please allow me to relay all the information from the affidavit to you first then I'll address any questions you may have, okay? U.S. Bank National is pressing charges today against the name and s.s.n # regarding three allegations. They are: Count 1: Violation of Federal Banking Regulations; Count 2: Collateral Check Fraud; Count 3: Okay, Theft by Deception.

Now they are further stating on the affidavit that on dates you were monitored using your email soliciting funds on a website owned and operated by US National Bank. The funds were deposited in your bank account utilizing an E.F.T. which stands for Electronic Funds Transfer. When they attempted to extract the funds back the E.F.T. was returned constituting under state statutes of an electronic check. As of today's date rather than chasing you or making harassing calls or disturbing you at your P.O.E. for the money they have opted to simply write the money off deeming it to be stolen and press charges against you in the county you're at.

For you this means three things:1). if you're on any state supervised probation or payroll you'll need to contact the attorney and make them aware that these charges will constitute a violation; 2). if you have any prior convictions including but not limited to worthless checks , grand theft or money laundering please be aware they will treat your case as that of a habitual offender and name the respective state as a zero-tolerant state; 3). lastly you do have the right to an attorney and if you can't afford one, then one will be appointed to you. Now since you've not been briefed on the case I have in fact documented here, that once you are picked up on the charges, you'll need to have one appointed to you. That way if the judge sets a bail you can have someone on standby to get you out.

Explanations of allegations: 1). Violation of Federal Banking Regulations: Regulations have been set in place for the exchange of the currency via and/or check E.F.T. which means electronic fund transfer by state and federal law making bodies and you've breached those regulations. 2). Collateral Check Fraud: Utilizing an instrument of commerce to ascertain some goods or services, and upon the remittance of that instrument of commerce, it proves to be of no value. 3). Theft by Deception: You willingly gave an instrument of commerce with the knowledge that it was actually useless.

This guy said I am going to jail. Ok, he can't even spell correctly. I think he needs to go to jail for fraud. This person has all my bank information. I'm going to my bank and see what I can do so they can't get any money from my account. Scammers!

It's a 5-star experience! I have read everyone's experience. I must say there are some people who play the game, others who get suckered in, and others who are buzz kills and don't give people the time of day. But let me say I am the one who play along and see it through the end. On 10/21/11, I got a call on the house phone which I barely, never use, due to stepfather situations. I don't mess with his **. And they knew my whole name, state, and zip code. The only people who would know these things is my college (I think they are spreading my numbers and information around). The thing about this call is so weird because they always fool people with this 50/100 correct information tool. So, this is where people get suckered in. These people always have like Indian-Asia accents with these weird toll numbers (not 800 or 877).

I only know Gary ** and some girls named Amy and Rachel. But they all sound the same. It could just be an Indian family or just a desperate Indian man and woman, because their voices don't differ at all. The numbers they use are magic jack numbers. Those numbers are temporarily setup at random. It is almost like an IP number blocker generator. This Indian person suspiciously proceeded with his weak scam intent government grant of $10,000. This is literally fun for me, because it is usually the desperate greedy people, unlucky low cashiers who get fooled by their own desire. So of course, I did not fall for the scammer's scam. But I fell for my own "desire to have income", especially without the 6-12 months government hassle. Who wouldn't play this kind of game?

Long story short, I was still on the phone with Gary ** (they are all Indian just to let you know). After I told him I was not giving him any more than my name, age, and zip code, he complied and tried to string this whole "sending money to your bank" statement. It forced me to demand the money sent by mail, FedEx. He complied again. He said that all I have to pay is $99 (charity to poverty ridden countries, just India) but with that Western Union fee ($109). The thing about Western Union is that anytime people request Western Union, that's the 1st red flag! Also, they will always tell you that you have nothing more to pay. That is the lie to make you feel secured enough to pay more money if something happens, the psychological trick. See, by making you feel as if you have to pay nothing, chances are, you will end up paying only because this "thing" is spontaneous and even helpful to getting you money faster. That is all the lie.

I got the $99 and sent it to Angad from Delhi, India. One hour later, I was called back by Indian's different number. Because they realized that I really had sent the money, now he wanted me to send it to them directly. He wanted me to change the name to Dipti. Now this raised Western Union's antennas. And they're on the phone back and forth, very intense. Keep in mind, these Indians will only be available on the phone with you, when you are about to send the money. But after you send the money, they all of a sudden become scarce.

The Western Union situation was cleared. The $99 still went through. The Indians are like, "You are alright, everything is good." I was told I was supposed to get a call from the federal treasury. They called unreliably hours after, with the same Indian accent (of course). They raised my hopes of getting the grant of $10,000 the day after. On 10-22-11, I woke up calling those same numbers back and listened to the message that the magic number is no longer available, this user does not accept messages, busy signal, welcome to movie phone ring tones etc.

I managed to get on to this number. The Indian and I were cussing each other out because she told me that Western Union had the money on hold. She said that I needed $230 to push the money forth. She said I would get paid the $10,000 and my $99 back. It was funny. I told her in my mean gangster voice: "** stop lying. Western Union would have called me first things first. That money went straight in your pockets (99 = 4 thousand rupees)." I then told her that she would not survive in America with 4k rupees. I also told her that $99 wasn't ** to me. So now she was pissed off because I used the guilty trick on her. She said, "What makes you think you are so special?" That was the tip off. And for some reason, she could not hang up the phone. She kept telling me, "Why don't you hang up, just hang up." But I did not. She put me on mute where I couldn't hear her, but she could still hear me. I proceeded in giving her threats and more guilt warnings and stuff like that. It was fun. I played the game only to find out that in life, to get good stuff, you need to sacrifice and believe in the devil.

I received a phone call today on my cellphone from a woman, Sandra, with a very strong accent stating that the federal government wants to give me $50,000 tax free that I will never need to pay back. I asked how she got my name and she said from the National Credit Bureau. All she needed now was a checking or savings account number so they could transfer it or any credit card. I said I will not give you that information and she said if I think that is a scam, I can make my account balance zero and I said how do I do that while on the phone with her. She said I could call her back at ** within 30 minutes. What a joke! I tried to call back just to tell her how terrible of a person she is for stealing from people but the phone number had a mail box that was full. I asked why they would give this money to me and she said because I pay my taxes, that I am American and have no criminal record. Sick people!

I received a call from an unknown number today, October 21, 2011. They stated I will receive a $7000 non-refundable grant from the government. I was given a grant approval number. I was told to contact Richard ** at ** for confirmation. I spoke to Richard **. He confirmed what was told to me by the first person. He said that the Federal Reserve Bank will process my money in 45 minutes. He placed me on hold. The call was disconnected. I called back and then he placed me on hold. The call was disconnected again. I have been trying to reach them since then. Both men have Indian type accents. It's such a shame that evil, dishonest people lurk in earth.

I was called by someone I couldn't really understand, who told me to call this other number: Christine, ** with an authorization number ** which is how she will know what "file" to look at. They wanted to charge $190.

I had call from a male with an accent that stated that he was with the Federal Government Grants Department. He stated that I was picked to receive a government grant of $7000 and that I never have to pay it back. This man called my telephone number, which is an unlisted number, he asked for me by name, told me my address and date of birth, which I did not provide. He told me that I was a student and that I was picked because I paid my student loans. He then told me to call with a number he gave and call it back. I did but when I called a woman with a thick accent answered the phone and asked for a number the man had provided. ST401. She told me to hold on. They ask me how I wanted my grant money, by cash, by check or by wire transfer. I said by money wire transfer. I felt it was a scam and had no intentions of giving bank information or credit card number. The phone number on the caller ID from where they called said Salt Lake City UT **. The number I had to call back to was **.

When the man answered he asks if I knew where a Western Union was and said I had to go to the Western Union with my ID and $275, as a deposit. I asked why and he said to make sure the right people get the money so it was a security deposit. I said my ID should be enough. He then got angry and said I'm not forcing you to go, if you don't want your grant money we can cancel it. When I asked who he was he just said a representative. When I asked what company is this again he said he was with the Federal Grants Department. I said ok, I am going to a Western Union. He then asked me how long it was going to take me to go. I said five minutes. I then got off the phone and made a complaint with the Federal Trades Commission and now with Consumers Complaints.

Someone called stating that I was eligible for a $7000 government grant. The person called from ** and spoke with a heavy accent. I was given a confirmation number and was told to call a "Mr. Bantelli" **. I was skeptical during the entire call and wished I hung up. I wonder how "Christine" had all my contact information. I hope these people get caught.

I received a call on my cell phone from a man with a very thick accent, saying that he was calling on behalf of the U.S. Government. He said that I had been randomly selected to receive a $7,000 grant due to my paying taxes on time (like that's hard) and my good standing with law enforcement. As he was talking, I was googling "$7,000 government grant". I came upon this website and saw the list of complaints. I then politely declined the offer and hung up.

I was called the 2nd time to tell me that I had been authorized by the government to get $7000, and that I was just chosen. They asked how I wanted in. I told them check. They said they did not do that. They wanted bank or credit card info. I told them that I wanted more on the company before I would give that kind of information. She then hung up on me.

On October 13, 2011, I received a phone call on my cellphone from an unknown number. This lady with a very heavy accent said she was with the Federal Government Grant Department and I have been selected to receive a grant for $7,800. All I had to do was go to the nearest Western Union. Of course, I had to get her to repeat all of that several times as I could not hardly understand her. Anyway she told me her name and that I needed to take 3 things with me to Western Union, which were my ID, my cellphone (which I have a number to call when I arrive at Western Union), and $200.

I asked what the $200 was for. She it was just for security until they prove my identity and it will be credited back with the $7,800 supposed grant within 2 minutes. She said there was no catch. I have a deadline of 3 days to do everything and that I should let them know when I would go there.

I though it was too good to be true so I called my husband and he thinks it's a scam. I thought so too but i'm going online just to check because we could really use the money. But to no surprise, I found all these people that have received similar phone calls.

This is awful and I pray that God deals with these predators as soon as possible. Who knows how many innocent victims they have taken.

Earlier today I got a phone call from a woman with a heavy accent telling me that I was approved for a $7000 grant from the government. She then asked for my bank account information and like a dummy I gave it to her because she said she was from the government. She said it was an education grant. I am a student so I thought it was true. I have applied for many student grants and loans from the government. She gave me a confirmation number and security number and told me to call a 202 number, same as these other stories.

I called the number and I believe the name of the guy was Devon. He also had a heavy accent and said he was from the US Treasury. He asked for $150 donation to be made through Western Union to a charity of some sort. I told him I didn't have the money and he asked if I could borrow it from someone, very persistent. I told him I would call him back and hung up. Then I looked online and found this. I feel like an idiot, I'm scared that later they may try to steal money out of my bank account. Has this happened to anyone? I can't afford to have money withdrawn from my account.

Richard ** called from the IRS, he even asked me if I knew that the IRS was the Internal Revenue Service when I questioned the legitimacy of his call. He had a thick Indian accent with the noise of a call center behind him. He told me that because I always pay my bills and taxes on time I am eligible for a free U.S. grant of $20,000 during this recession. I asked him where the government is getting this money during this recession. He insisted he was from the U.S. Department and transferred me with his supervisor.

James **'s accent was even thicker as he assured me that he wasn't going to ask me for any personal information. I told him that this was a scam. He assured me that this money was all free, for me, and all I had to do was go to Western Union with my file number **, and call him back at **. I will need a photo ID, a cell phone, and oh, $128. He also needed to know exactly when I would be at Western Union. What a scam! I truly hope that nobody falls for this. There is no such thing as free money. It's a big waste of time on the phone.

I received a call from "name unavailable" with a number of **. The person has an accent which related to East Asia, Philippines, possibly. He stated that I was eligible to receive 7,000 in U.S. federal grant money and that every 2 years the government allots this money to people who pay taxes and have not filed bankruptcy.

He went on to say, "The money will come from the New York Federal Bank and all I needed to do was provide a credit card, debit card or bank account number."

Of course, I immediately Googled and found that there are numerous reports already being filed.

Last Wednesday, I received a call telling me that I have been selected to get $7000 grant money due to a survey that they did in Brockton and my name came up. His name was Jonathan, who speaks little English and said that I have to use the money wisely, but I have to speak to his manager first, his name is Jester ** with a confirmation code **. I called him and he told me how would I like my money, I said give me a check and he said they don't give checks, its direct deposit, cash or on a visa card. I said, "Give me cash" he said, "okay, you have to go to Western Union with your ID and also $239 deposit." I said why? He said, "It's because people tend to do theft and I will get the money release to me within three minutes and I will also get the deposit back. I said, "I don't have it, so they say they'll put it on hold for me. 2 days later, I tried the number at night time but it says that the person I am trying to reach is not available. He called me back in the morning saying that I left a message, asked if am I ready to get the money. I said, "No, I didn't leave a message," then I told him that I just needed for him to talk to my lawyer, before I pay the $239. He got angry saying why does he need to, my baby was playing and he acts like he couldn't hear and hang up.

Today, about 5:30pm, I received an out of area call from a woman with an accent. She told me that I had been chosen for a $7000 grant from the U.S. government. I questioned what it was for and she stated that the government was giving these grants to people who had not filed bankruptcy or had a criminal record. I was very skeptical. She knew my name and address and asked how long I had lived at my address. She did not ask for any personal information like bank account or SS number.

She told me that the government did not want me to use things like gambling. She asked what I might use the money for and I told her for tuition. She gave me a confirmation and a phone number to call to receive the money. I thank her, hung up and did not call the number.

A guy named Chris called from an unavailable number for free grant of $7000. He said that the government chose my name from millions of people. He gave me an ID number. And he told me to call 202-657-4227. He said that a lady would tell me exactly what to do. She stated that I could go to a Western Union store and then call her back to fill out paperwork. She said that because the Western Union was not a government agency, I would need to wire $247.00 to verify that I was who I was, and then I would get the money back with the $7000. She said that she would stay on the phone with me until I received it in my hand. I found this odd. So, I told her no. I told her that I did not have that kind of money to wire to get money and found this very illegal. My thinking is that she would stay on the phone until they had my money and then hang up. Do not trust this! I told her to cancel this grant. I did not send any money.

I received a call today in reference to a government grant of $7,000.00, for which I definitely did not qualify for because they told me that my number and name were chosen. The information that they had on me was that I had never had filed bankruptcy, and no criminal background. Wrong. If the government really chose my name, they would say no. I'll leave at that. They gave a confirmation number and told me to ask for Jasmine and if the phone was busy, to keep calling until it wasn't. I finally got through to Jasmine and she basically told me the same stuff, but this time she asked me for a donation of $210.00 for the hungry. I told her that I didn't have the money and she asked if I would borrow it from someone in my family and they would hold my application for a week. Once I could pay the money they would transfer the $7000.00 into my account. I said, "Why can't you take it out of the $7,000.00 you going to transfer to my account." Jasmine stated that she could not do it. I know that they were calling from an outsourced calling center and all of this is **. The number they called from was an unknown number and the number they asked me to call was **.

I ordered a Grant Assist Kit. I was told that I would be paying $2.97 for shipping and handling, and that's it. I was charged an additional $57.93 a week later without my permission. This extra charge cost me an overdraft fee of $34. I called the company to dispute this charge. They said that there was nothing we could do, that it's our fault for not reading the fine print. Then, they proceeded to hang up on me. I am now out $94.90. I sent them an email and they apologized for me not reading the advertisement correctly. But since it's my fault for their misleading ad, I would not receive a refund. They don't offer refunds. I am so frustrated and in need of some help.

I received a call from ** and an Indian or Pakistani-sounding man told me that I was awarded a tax-free grant of $7,000, and that I needed to call ** and ask for Steve **. This man also sounded like he was Pakistani or Indian, and told me to deposit $190 with Western Union. In about 15 minutes, I would get back my "security" and my grant money. I immediately searched for "U.S. grant scams" on Google and made this complaint.

I received a call from a Washington, DC area on 9/30/2011 stating that I was qualified to receive a grant for $7,000 and I am free to do whatever I wanted to do with it. This grant is supposed to be coming from the Treasury Department. This female caller had a foreign accent and she asked me for my account number. I told her that I did not have a bank account (I lied). She then asked me for a credit card number and I thought that this was a scam. I played along with her and I gave her my prepaid credit card number (Rushcard) that I don't use often.

She took the information and gave me a phone number to call a Mick ** at **. She stated for me to keep calling him because he was a very busy man, taking calls trying to give out these so-called grants to thousands of people. And if the number continued to be busy, I would just have to keep calling him. I told myself, let me call so I can see how this scam is going to work. So, I called and called, to no avail--the number continued to be busy as she stated.

On Saturday morning, 10/1/2011, I received a call from this same woman from the same number. She said that I should call Mick ** who was waiting for my call to transfer this grant money of $7,000 to my card as of this day--maybe in 45 minutes. I played with that and called about 14 times getting a busy signal. On the 14th time that I called, I got Mick ** on the phone (he has the same foreign accent). He stated that I was to call him back in 30 minutes so that he can setup some paperwork for me, and that I should get this grant money today. I called back only to get a busy signal, again. They have not asked me for any money yet, but I do think that they will if I continue to call.

A man called said he was with government and I qualified for a 7000-dollar grant which I didn't have to pay back. He had an accent and there was a lot of noise in the background. He read my basic info to me and asked me some questions. Then he stated that I couldn't spend the money on liquor or gambling stuff of that nature. Then asked me for my account numbers and such. I told him that I didn't have my cards with me and to call back in an hour. \

I knew it was a scam. No government official is gonna call from a blocked number, have a bad accent, and you'll be able to hear other people talking in the background. I hope people reading this don't get scammed.

We were called by someone stating that they were from the US Federal Bank of Washington. They told us we were selected by the government to receive a grant of $7,000. Then, he gave us another number to call and talk to a Nancy **. They said that she would give us all the information we needed. She told us that we would have to Western Union them $120 to feed the hungry before we could receive the money.

Thanks to this website, I was able to know this was a scam. The phone number I was told to call was 202-683-9429. The person wanted me to go to Western Union. Call them again, and bring my ID and a security deposit of $239. I said no thanks and hung up.

A lady with an Indian accent, a man with an Indian accent, with the following names, addresses and titles: John Wilson, President, Mr. Ledron **, Mr. Chris **, Officer Roxanne of the Washington Police Department, Tarmeo telemarketer; located at 200 Independence Drive, S.W. Washington DC 20201 spoke to me regarding a $6,000 grant award to go pick it up at Western Union. Of course, it was a scam. Wester Union notified me that I was sending them money and not receiving it, after I received painstaking directions over the telephone from Tarmeo aka (Terry **) on how to fill out the form. My approval code to receive the $6000 was **. Why are these people allowed to even have a telephone number at this point?

I received a call from a man with an Indian accent, calling from a number with too many digits and stating that I was selected as a winner of a federal grant in the amount of $7,000. The money would be issued from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. I began to ask many questions because things sounded very fishy. He could not tell me my name and could not immediately recite the number that was selected. It is a scam. I could feel it in my skin. I told the guy to call me back tomorrow, but he gave me him name and phone number, Steve ** at **. I hope this helps to catch the foolish people.

I received a call from Henry ** who kept telling me that because I haven't filed for BK in the last 6th months, paid my bills on time, and filed on time with my taxes, I was one of the 14,000 chosen to receive a $7,000 US Government Grant. He asked for my bank information to deposit the money in 45 mins, and then he would give me a grant approval number and call back number. I kept asking him what I have to buy? Why does he need my date of birth and address if he is with the government? Can I have the call back number now?

I was curious so I proceeded to give him a prepaid account, my address, and date of birth (however, I mixed numbers up, so they were not accurate at all). He then gave me a number to call for Sophie ** at 202-470-1385. I called this Sophie person, and after going around in circles with what this really is and her insisting it's not a scam, she finally told me to pay towards a donation via Western Union before I could get my grant money. I said she take it out of the grant money and hung up.

I received a call from a person who told me also I was to receive a government grant. Now mind you, I am disabled and the government has had my checks on pretty rocky grounds already. So, this struck my curiosity. It was a man who spoke very little English. He told me to call 202-241-6299 (magic jack). I got the recording that it was full. But within an hour, someone called me back. They have caller ID. Watch out people. I wish our taxes could pay to get these guys arrested.

I was called this morning by a woman telling me I was just approved for a government loan (approved; I didn't apply). She said her name was Allen **. I repeated her name and she repeated it back by spelling it. She sounded Indian or Asian; accent was there. She wanted my checking account number for it would be deposited in 24 hours. Surprisingly, she didn't ask for any money. I was on to her and repeated the number that came through my cell phone. Where are you located?, I asked. She said, "Don't worry about that right now. So what are your numbers where you would like this deposited". I said I am going to do some research on this and she hung up the phone. So I called the number back 757 number for area code. No answer. Be careful people!

I had received a call around 4:01PM today and it was a lady with a thick accent saying that I am granted $7000 from the US Government because I paid my taxes on time, I am a good citizen and I have no criminal background. I asked her what was the catch, she said that there was no catch and all I had to do was deposit $200 to Western Union in 15 minutes and she would be on the phone with me.

I told her I was not able to go to Western Union and I don't have the money on me. She then said that if I didn't deposit the money today, it would be canceled tomorrow. So I said, "well I can't, so it's just going to have to be canceled". Then she said hold on. She transferred me to another lady who basically said the same thing. She said, except she said, she would put the line on hold for two days. I said okay and they gave me a confirmation number and told me not to tell anybody or let anybody see the number. She then said that I had to have my social security number and my driver's license when I went to Western Union. I said okay and she said bye. The number that they called me from was very weird. It was 152549683 and said name not found. The number that she gave me to call her back on was 202-657-6662. I hope the government catch these people because they are picking on people who are barely making it ourselves.

I had a female call with a very thick accent and told me I was eligible to get $7,000 in free grant money. She asked me if I knew why. I said no. She told me because I didn't have a criminal record and I hadn't filed for bankruptcy. I was to use this money for paying bills, home improvements, etc. I couldn't use it to gamble or anything like that.

She gave me a confirmation number including 2 letters and 4 numbers then a number to call her supervisor named Patricia **. She then confirmed my address and told me to call the number right after I hang up on our call. I then went to the computer to look up the number she gave me and to find out if it was a scam. I called the number and it sounded like the same female that I had just be talking with on the first call.

I asked who I called and she responded so fast and with a thick accent I could not understand her. I told her they told me to call this number and she asked for the confirmation code. I gave it to her and she told me to hold. I held for less than a minute and hung up.

I then found this site and started my description and decided to call the number again. And not to my surprise, there was no answer. NTELOS PCS 1-757-717-7524 is the number that called me and the number to call back is 1-202-684-6752.

Last Friday, I received a call from a woman claiming to be with the government and informing me that I had just been awarded a government grant of $10,000. She gave me a phone number to call and a two-letter-four-digit confirmation code. I was a bit skeptical so I looked up the number on the reverse phone number look-up site and found that it was a Washington DC number. I was still skeptical, but decided to go ahead and call the phone number I was given. After all, I wasn't going to give them any information and I figured I would be crazy if it was for real not to at least investigate it. I gave the man my confirmation number and he then read to me my address and phone number and asked if I knew why I had received this grant. I told him no and he explained to me that I was chosen because I had always paid my taxes on time, never been convicted of any crimes and was a hardworking citizen. He informed me that this was part of Obama's Stimulus Plan of 2009, I said OK.

He then told me that he would need a couple of minutes to update my file and would call me back in 5 minutes. When I got off the phone with him, I immediately started looking for information about this so-called stimulus package (after all, it has been my experience that the government will just put you on hold for an obscenely long amount of time, not ask to call you back). I was directed here to this website where I read many other complaints that sounded similar to the phone call I had just received. The only difference was I had not been asked for any money, yet. After about an hour, he called me back and asked me where I was. I told him that I was at home and he said that he was expecting me to be at Western Union (there it was! I knew they would be asking for money). I told him that he said he was going to be calling me back in 5 minutes and he never had, therefore I had not heard anything about going to Western Union. I also informed him that I knew that this was a scam and informed him that he should lose my number. He "assured" me that this was for real and that if I failed to wire him the money I would lose my chance to collect it from the government and that they "owed" it to me. I told him that I had already looked this up and that there was no way I was going to send him any money and besides, he had not told me to send him any money in the first place (after all, when you are trying to scam so many people, it's easy to lose track of who you are dealing with at the time and what you had already told them).

He started to assure me again that this was for real. I told him I didn't want to hear from them again and hung up. Then today, Monday, I got another phone call (this time from a different guy), informing me that I had qualified for a $7000 grant from the government. I informed him that we had just been through this on Friday, I knew it was a scam and to not call me any more. He said, "Oh I will, I'll call you everyday. I know where you are." and hung up. It was a bit unnerving. It saddens me to think that there are so many people out there that get taken advantage of by these creeps and I hope sharing my experience and informing the public will help end these heartless men and women's "careers".

Yesterday at about 7:30 at night I got a call from a lady (with a heavy accent) talking about I was picked to get a grant for 7,000 dollars. The lady went on and on and I don't talk to people like this but being broke and having 2 kids, I would have loved the money she said she needed a checking number and my money would be there in 24 hours. I told her that I wanted information mail to me and she said to do that I had to give her my account number I told her no and I wanted proof she then transferred me to a man named John ** who sounded worst than her there was a lot of people talking in the back round I told him until he mailed me some proof I wasn't giving him anything. He then went on that with how he needed proof of it really being me and wanted my social security number I told him ** no, he then got rude he told me again to give him my checking account number. Being stupefied, I did and then he asked me how I was going to spend my money I told him on my kids my oldest needed surgery on her.

He then told me the bank was closed to transfer the money to call back tomorrow. I then hung up called my bank put a freeze on my account and then went to the bank today and closed out the account I knew better and was so mad to believe him and her but I guess with holidays right around the corner I bought it. I hope people don't buy this I feel bad for the other people who sent money to them I wasn't going to do anything about it at first then I Google it and this page came up if no one said anything this is going to keep happening I hope these scum are caught. I would love to share words with them.

I received a phone call today at 11:26 am from a gentleman with a middle eastern accent. He claimed that I was selected to receive $5000 grant from the government. He stated this was because I paid my taxes, I have no criminal record, etc. I thought this was fishy, obviously. But I thought why not hear the guy out. He asked me to confirm my name and address. He already had the information and read it to me. It was correct. Next, he gave me a confirmation code **. He told me to call back as soon as I hang up at the number 202-241-6465 and ask for Amy **.

After I hung up, instead of calling, I went online and googled "phone call grant scam". Right away, I saw another complaint from someone with a similar experience. However, this young lady called the number back. They asked her to send $190 in order for them to send her back the $5000 grant. At that point, she realized it was a scam. When she called the guy out, it got a little heated. And when she expressed her frustration with their scam, he got vulgar with her. He then continued to call her, even stating "I know where you live".

I have been receiving phone calls from a **. It was a female with a heavy Middle Eastern accent, stating that I have won $7000.00 dollars, in an once-in-a-lifetime Federal Government Grant. All I had to do was to give my debit/checking/prepaid card numbers to this person and I would receive the money within 45 minutes. The women then told me that she was going to give me a pin number that I only was to give to the Grant person, when I called the ** number.

I knew instantly that it was a scam, but I went along with it. I had an old prepaid debit card that had no access to my bank information, what-so-ever and gave that to them, the man who also had a heavy Middle Eastern accent (from the **number) told me to go to Western Union and transfer $120.00 to a charity in Europe. I could only get the $7000.00 dollars if I did this.

I was like, "Yeah ok, its 8:30 pm EST and I'm not going to a Western Union tonight." He said, "When can you get there?" and I answered, "Maybe tomorrow." Well, today, I received 7 phone calls from the number. I finally got home from work and called the number back, the man answered and I said, "I know this is a scam, maybe you should try making an honest living and not stealing from us, US Americans hard earned dollars." He quickly hung up on me. I did report this to the local police. I called the man back and after several times of calling back (because he kept hanging up on me); I asked him how it felt to be harassed. He then stated that he loved me and was then very inappropriate.

They called and said that the government was selecting people, as they do every so many years according to them, and allotting $7,000. I asked why, and from what I understood, I have a good record and could gain the most from obtaining this government grant. She asked my name and read off my email address. Being on SSI, food stamps and WIC (and my partner is on TANF), I said to her, "If I were to get this so-called money, wouldn't it go right back to the government? She seemed a little impatient and said, "No, nothing is to be paid." Before I could ask any more questions, she said that she would be sending me the information in the mail and just hung up. It's exciting and yet very strange. I don't believe it, but, boy, if it could happen--people are dastardly. I am in a position that I could very much use it. But what are they going to steal, a lousy $600? That is kinda sad.

A person called with an Indian accent and informed me that I was chosen for a government grant of $7000 because I had always paid my taxes, never filed for bankruptcy and paid my bills on time. She said she had to verify my information such as my name, address and last four digits of my SS number. She read all the information to me. I'm assuming that they have my full SS number. She then said I needed to call 206-855-3328 and give them a verification number to receive the grant money. I never did call the number. I looked up the number and it's listed somewhere in Washington state.

A woman with an Indian accent called saying that I won a $7,000 grant because I pay my taxes on time and I didn't filed for bankruptcy in the last six months. They wanted me to give them my debit card number and bank account number too. I asked them why can't they just mail me the check. The woman said that it was not safe and that the government wanted me to receive the money fast. I asked if there was a website with more information about the program. As I was talking to her, I was surfing the web and I saw about the scam so I said to her, "thanks, but I was not interested," and hung up. I got her information from my caller ID.

This guy with a thick accent called and informed me that I had been selected to receive a $7,000 grant from the US Federal Government. He informed me that I had been selected because I pay my taxes on time, have not filed for bankruptcy, and have no criminal record.

The call was from an "unknown" number. I knew it would be a scam as soon as I heard what he was offering me. The government wouldn't call to offer you free money for no reason, especially from a blocked number.

I kept asking the guy what company he worked for and for an address and phone number. He kept insisting that he worked for the "Federal Government". When I told him that I wasn't going any further until I got that info, he reluctantly gave me an address, "200 (some street I couldn't understand), Washington, DC with a phone number of (202) 657-2488." I called that number with him on the phone and it went to a Verizon Wireless voicemail box.

I allowed him to go on and he said that I could receive my grant in one of two ways. Provide him with a checking/savings account number and routing address, or a credit card and it would be instantly sent.

At this point, I had enough. I informed him that I knew he was a scammer. He kept telling me to shut up and that I can't talk to the government that way. Eventually, he said "Well, if I'm a scammer, then goodbye!" and then he hung up. Good riddance!

I was called by a man named Jack ** that I had qualified for a government grant in which I would not have to pay back for the amount of $6,000 if I send him $199 through Western Union transfer. He indicated that when I send the $199.00 processing fee, I would receive it back along with the $6,000. My wife called him back at the listed number and told him that this was a government scam. I hope you, or someone, can stop people like him from scamming others.

I received a phone call that the government wanted to give me 7,000 dollars for being a good citizen, for having no criminal background and no bankruptcy record. They said they needed my banking info and that in 45 minutes, the money would be deposited into my account. I told them my bank advised me that is not a good idea. Then, I asked them to send me a check. They said they would send me check, but I had to Western Union them $150. They said that was for donations. They told me that after that, my check would be sent out and I would have it in 48 hours. I told them I would like to contact my local officials and police. And as soon as I said that, they hung up on me!

On Saturday Aug. 27, 2011 at 10:40am, a man with a heavy East Indian accent called like in the previous post and said I was selected by the Government to receive a $20,000 grant. He said his name was "Calvin Smith". I thought, "yeah right". After some script reading, I just hung up. They called again later with an area code from my area and said I was to receive $6000. After hearing the accent and the grant, I hung up again.

I received a call from an unavailable number at exactly 7:44 pm (est) on August 25, 2011. It was a woman who did not introduce her name and had an Indian accent. She stated to me, ''Congratulations, you are one of 1700 people who have been selected from the US government to receive a grant for $5,000. This is free money from the government that you don't need to pay back."

I stated to her, "Sounds fishy, but okay." She then asked me, ''Do you know why you're receiving this money'?" I said,''No''. She said, "Because you are an eligible American citizen, you have no criminal history, paid your taxes and that never filed for bankruptcy." I said, "True." She then asked me to confirm my email address, which I didn't have to give her because she read it out loud.

She then said, "Well I am going to give you a confirmation number and you are to call a number that I am about to give you." She gave me a confirmation number starting with two letters followed by four numbers. She then stated, "I need you to call Alex ** at ** as soon as you hang up. I hung up the phone and called the number at exactly 7:51 p.m (est).

A man named Alex ** who had an Indian or Pakistan accent. I stood on the phone with him for five minutes. He basically told me everything the other woman said and told me about the $5,000 grant and why I was chosen to receive it. He then asked me how I prefer to receive the money--by cash, debit or by check. I stated "cash". He stated to me, "It's too late to wire money tonight, please give us a call tomorrow between 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. (est)."

The next morning, on August 26, 2011, I called Alex ** back at exactly 12:15 p.m. (est). There was no answer and I was directed to an answering machine. But what really shocked me was that this Alex guy was using a magic jack and asked me how I know. Well, before it directed me to the answer machine it said, "The magic jack number you are trying to reach is not available right now, please leave a message after the beep."

I didn't think anything of it at first but then I received a beep and it was the 347 number I was calling. It was Alex ** again and we spoke about getting this grant. I told him I would like to receive it in cash. He then stated, "In order to receive this $5,000 grant you, are hereby responsible for a one-time security fee of $190." I told him I don't have that kind of money right now. He said that in order to receive this grant, I would have to go to any Western Union location and send the $190. He said, "I will stay on the phone with you when you send it."

I asked him, "Do I get the $190 back?'' He said, "Yes, after you send it, we will send it back." I asked, "What is the purpose of sending the $190?" He said, "We do this to make sure you are who you say you are and that we give the $5,000 grant to who is supposed to get it." I stated, "Well, I have a valid government-issued drivers license, social security card and birth certificate. I can prove who I am." He said, "This is how the government wants it done and if you can't send in $190, then we will put your grant on hold." I said, "Okay, I will call you back," then hung up.

I called some of my friends to tell them about what was going on and right away, everyone told me to not do it; it is a scam, and which I've just learned that no government whatsoever is just gonna randomly give $5,000 to just anyone. And of course, I've learned that the government will not make you pay money to receive a grant. So yes, that is the number one sign of a scam.

As pissed off as I was, I called this Alex guy back, but no answer. He called me back a few minutes later and the moment he spoke, I said, "How can you be so selfish and cruel to wanna take innocent people's hard-earned money? Why can't you make your own money in a more positive way?" He asked me, "What's the matter with you?" I said, "I know you are scamming people, I'm looking online now on the Consumer Affairs website and the same thing you are doing to me, others have done or went through it. You should be ashamed of yourself."

He asked me, "Who told you this? How do you know this information?" I didn't answer him but stated, "You are gonna get caught and I hope they put you away forever." He stated, ''Catch me if you can, **! You Americans ain't **!" So I've said some pretty mean things to him after that but it was worth it. I had to let him know how I felt about him and what he was doing. He then stated, "I love you, Joanna" and started making sex sounds and told me that he was **.

After hanging up on him, he kept calling me back, harassing me and calling me a ** and an **. I said to him, "If you don't stop calling me, I am gonna go to the police," then hung up. He called me about six more times but I never answered. Then at 3:13 p.m. (est), I got a call from another number ** and it was him again. He stated, "I'm not going to stop calling you and I know where you live."

This is the creepiest thing I have ever experienced and I hope the government can soon catch these people before they really hurt someone in some other way. Till then I refuse to answer any calls that I don't recognize the number. And please people, change your phone numbers and stop giving your address away and your date of birth because I've been a victim of identity theft and the problem doesn't stop here. So please save yourself from all the headache.

Someone called my house phone saying I could get $5600 in grant money and they got the last four of my social and date of birth. I called the number back and it said Magic Jack. Someone better not have a phone in my name and info.

I was called by Steven stating that I was selected to receive $7,000.00 from the Federal Government. My name was drawn from a lots of several thousand people because I paid my taxes on time and had no criminal record. He gave me a code and told me to call his account manager, Susan **, in 5 minutes. I was instructed not to tell anyone the code but Susan. The money was not to be used for anything illegal. I asked how they would know, and he said it could be used for anything. I asked if I was to receive a check or a wire transfer to my bank account. He said either one.

I was called by a man with an accent. He told me that the government was giving me 7,000.00 grant for not having a record (bankrupt, etc.). He said that I would have to pay 235.00 as a deposit so that I can receive my grant. He said because it is such a big amount, he couldn't send me the money without paying the fees (202) 2413763. I also have his manager's number as well (206) 3171554. I sent the money they were asking for, then he said that I have to pay taxes of 435.00. He said that Florida is not a tax-free state so the government would allow it to get transferred. I felt bad because that was my disabled parents' rent money. They also told me that I couldn't get my money back. The manager said there's nothing he can do because he already transferred the money.

Yesterday, August 17, 2011, a guy called me with a thick Indian accent saying, "Congratulations! You have been chosen to receive a grant of $7,000. He told me that he is from the United States Government and asked me if I would like to know why I am getting this grant. Of course, I was, like, "Yeah. Why?" He said, "Well, you pay your taxes, you don't have a criminal background and you are a good American."

The whole time, I was thinking that people just don't give away seven grand. And I have been applying for a lot of jobs online recently so I thought that was how they got my telephone number. Then he asked me if I was Stephanie and read to me my address. Well, the street number he said was wrong although the street and area code was right.

Anyway, he told me that I need to call his general manager at ** in exactly 10 minutes and gave me a grant claim number. He warned me not to tell the number to anyone except for his manager. So when I called the number, it didn't ring or anything and just told me to leave a message.

Today, the guy called me back telling me that I need to call the general manager, which I did. When I dialed the number, a woman informed me that I need to pay for an application fee, which will then be donated to a third world country (China). She added that the money was for a charity to help other countries. I replied, "Well, send me the seven grand and I'd gladly send you $160. She said, "I'm really sorry. We can't do that." So, we started arguing on the phone.

I told her that I have no problem donating money but I'm not going to pay her just to get the money; that is a scam! And then she started getting loud with me, saying, "Fine. If you think it's a scam, I will just cancel your grant!" I told her to stop yelling at me. She can cancel the grant if she wants because it's fake anyway.

I then hung up on her because I believe that you do not have to pay any money to get "free" money. That's like winning the Lotto and having to give them $10,000 cash before you get your winnings. If there's a fee, they should take it out of the money you are getting. Load of **. Do not trust these people. They are taking money from people who cannot even afford to buy food. Do not hand over any money. Always check the scam sites. When will someone put a stop to these people? I feel like contacting my news station and having them call the number and bust these people!

I applied for a personal grant a few weeks ago. On Thursday, August 4th, I received a call that I was approved for the personal grant I applied for and it was a total of $7,000. At first, I thought it was a scam; he told me all of my personal information and I mean all of it. Then he told me what I was to use the money on and I asked if I could use it for groceries and clothes for my 3-year-old son since my family of three have none. I got laid of in September 2010 and lost our home car and many other things and have had to stay at friends and family homes till we get on our feet. He said, well of course, his name was Ryan ** he said President Obama requires that any person receiving a grant must donate $210 to a less fortunate country such as India, Japan, Pakistan and I couldn't understand the other due to his accent. I said ok and take it out of the grant, he then said that he was not certified to do that because it was for me.

We need the money desperately so I borrowed the $210 and called him back like he said when I got to the Western Union. He then granted me that I had 72 hours to get my money back if after the transaction was made. It would only take twenty minutes to get the money deposited to me and if it wasn't there to go back and get my money back. So I was told to send the money to Mohan ** in Delhi, India. I did and he asked for the MCT number from my receipt then he gave me a confirmation number and the number to the bank manager to release the funds. The number was **

The man I was to talk with was Eric ** He claimed to be the manager of the US Federal Reserve Bank and then he took the confirmation number and then proceeded to tell me the actual funds I was going to receive was $8,880. However, there is a bank transfer fee of $378. I told him to just take it from the grant but he said he was not authorized to do that. So I told him that I don't have that kind of money, he then said to borrow it. I told him I had to borrow the money I was told to donate and wouldn't be able to come up with that kind of money for another month. He then tried to explain why I had to pay more. I asked to speak with someone of higher authority and he then said to hold while he transferred me and hung up.

So I had went back at the Western Union to get my money back and I was told that since the money had already been picked up, there was nothing they could do. I had to get a hold of the receiver to get my money back. So this time, I had my husband call to get the money back. The man again claimed to be Eric ** started arguing when my husband asked for the name of the company he worked for, finally the man said USS Realty Bank and now he told me, the Federal Reserve Bank. The conversation between him and my husband was threatening that if the money wasn't put back he'd be hearing from our attorney but I don't have money to hire one. That's why it was a threat. I still have all the receipts, names and phone numbers of the people I spoke with.

I received a call about a 6,000-dollar government grant I was to be awarded. I was told by some Arab sounding guy to go to Western Union and I would have to put down a deposit of 150 dollars and wait five to ten minutes while on the phone with them the entire time. It sounded fishy, so I called Western Union and asked if you ever have to put down a deposit to receive money and they said no. I told them the situation and they told me to call the police and make a report which I have already done before I Googled it and found that many other people have received the same scam.

People be aware. They are out to get your money even after I told the ** that I just had a baby that is going through surgery. He still insisted that I give him my account number. Please be aware of this scam.

A woman by the name of Linda told me that because of my good grades in college and by paying my bills on time, I received a 7,000 grant from the government. She proceeded to ask me in what method did I want to collect the 7,000. The choices were in cash, direct deposit, or by debit card. To gain more information, I said by cash. She then gave me a phone number along with an ID number to receive further instructions.

I talked with a man claiming his name was Patrick and to make a long story short, he said I could receive the money via Western Union: with a 225 money wire.

Both Linda and Patrick had accents and 201 area code. Don't let District of Columbia area code fool you. Please watch out for this obvious scam.

I received a call from a man (with a thick accent) claiming he was representing the federal government and that I was to receive a check for $7,000 because I pay my taxes on time and have not gone into bankruptcy, etc. He asked to confirm my street address and date of birth and then gave me a claim number and a number to call his manager, "Mark" whom I was supposed to speak with to claim my check. The number was 202-559-0652. I checked their website at ** and it appears to be some type of a grant application service which attempts to get people to pay $20 for a "grant processing fee."

This man with an accent, told me that i was going to recieve a grant. He asked if was wondering why? I said Yes, he told me i was going to recieve a 6,000 dollar grant that i would not have to pay back at all because i was a good citizan. I pay my taxes, and I have never been convicted of a crime. He told me i needed to call 1(202)621-0716 with a grant approval number and speak to their accountant. The whole time i was on the phone with him there was constant noise in the background. I asked for a website. I checked the website address after i got off the phone with him, it did not work. So then i googled grant scams, and there were several people with the same claim.

I called the number the man gave me. When the man answered the phone, again accent, noise in the background. I asked him if this was for real he said yes. I asked why i had just read about this under grant scams on google. He said since i did not trust him i had lost my grant! What a crock. The sad thing is these people might be accutally scamming people and taking what little money they have.

This morning, 8/3/2011, I received a call from this gentleman with an accent informing me that I was to receive a grant from the US for $50,000.00 within 24 hours. I asked him why was I eligible for such a large amount of cash from the US Government? He said because I was an upstanding citizen, was over the age of 18, did not have a criminal record and this money was given to me to payoff credit card bills or to do what I wanted to do with it and I do not have to pay it back.

I then asked him what must I do to receive this money (I was suspicious when he told me I had been selected to receive this grant that I did not apply for). He stated that I was to give him my birthday and give him my bank account because such a large amount of cash could not be sent in the mail and this money will be deposited directly into my account. I told him that I would not give him my birth date nor my account number until I receive something in the mail stating that I was to receive this money and I would then call him back and give him the information he requested from me.

He stated then that they do not send letters in the mail and subsequently, money get missing in the mail and this large amount of money could only be deposited into my bank account. If I do not give him the information he wanted, he would void my grant money. I then said thank you and hung up. I googled the phone number, which could not give a name, but the state the area code came from was Florida. The BBB should get involved with this and if possible, trace these crooks down. They are probably ripping off a lot of seniors.

i had a phone call today from a man named jason saying that he was a government offical claiming that i had been selected for a $7000.00 grant he had a accent and claimed that i could have it in 45 mins. he asked for a bank account number or a card number. i am not a idiot and i work hard to provide for me and my children. some one please stop them!!!! someone is going to fall for this!!!

Some idiot named Officer Kenneth or something like that (he couldn't speak a lick of good English), called and said I'd been chosen to win a $7,000 government grant. I'm thinking right off the back that this is a scam.

For one, the government is going through some things themselves so where do they have numerous amounts of $7,000 to randomly give away? Second, we're at war in Iraq so I know Osama Bin Laden haven't been hired by President Obama to personally make these phone calls to help us poor citizens after he put us through so much tragedy. Third, there was like a million people talking in the background.

He had the nerve to ask me for my bank account information and debit card number to put the money on there. No, buddy. If I won something I don't want a phone call. I want a personal delivery from the company and at the time of their delivery I will verify the company before cashing anything. And even if it's in cash, I will have a cash marker to make sure it's real. Anyhow, that's neither here nor there.

When I asked the foolish guy to call me back so that I could verify the company, he seemed to have gotten a little offended and suggested that I give him my information first and then he would have a name and telephone number for me. I told him no, give me the number now. Of course he gave me both a false name and phone number to dial. And the number he called from didn't work once I tried to dial it back and request to be removed.

People like those shouldn't have access to our personal information such as address, name, phone number, etc. But then again we have to be careful what we sign ourselves up for online and where we put our information in at.

For the lady with the 10-month-old baby, I really do feel for you and these people should be locked up for preying on innocent struggling people such as yourself. Something good will definitely come out of this screw up these people are causing in others' lives. The phone number (202) 609-7042 was the number the guy gave me for a Calvin ** and the number was invalid. So people, please be aware. If they can't speak a lick of English, the crap is 10 times out of 10 a scam.

I received a call from Micheal from government department (926) 543-2166 - (unknown) and there was a guy with accent telling me that I was eligible for GRANT Government Money of $6,000. He gave me a phone number to call (202) 407-9116 (Washington, DC) and confirmation number. I called and ask questions who exactly they are. They hung up. PLEASE, BE CAREFUL! IT'S SCAM

I had a guy with a funny accent call and tell me I qualified for a free 7000 grant. I laughed b/c i knew it was a scam. He went on to tell me it was b/c i filed my taxes on time and i had not filed bankruptcy. This "company" seems like its a scam from what I've been reading.. Not to mention but they have called me repeatedly after I told them to take my name off there call list!

I received a phone call at 9:55 a.m. stating I was entitled to $7000.00 of free grant money, because I've filed my taxes on time and didn't have any bankruptcies in the last 12 months. While I am in a "tight" situation right now, I'm not desperate. I listened to him, and he asked for my bank account number or my credit card number. I asked him to call me back in 10 minutes, so I could retrieve my bank account information. He foolishly called back, and I advised him that I am a real government employee and unless he's interested in getting arrested, he'd better stop making prank calls. He hung up. The name he provided is Richard. His accent is consistent with what others have described. Please be careful.

I received a telephone call today from a woman identifying herself as "Tracey from the US Government Grant Department". It was difficult to understand her because her accent was so thick. It was also evident that she was reading from a script.

"Tracey" proceeded to tell me how "lucky" I was to be chosen to receive $7,000 from the "US Government Grant Department" and I could use the funds for school, to pay my bills and anything else that was not illegal. It was very important to her that I understood that this money was not to be used for illegal activities. Weird, huh?

When she first started speaking I put her on speaker and looked up the phone number that displayed on my caller ID and found that it belonged to Wash-It Laundromat in Elmira, NY 14904.

Next I tried to find the governmental department that she claimed to be from. When I couldn't find it (no surprise there), I asked her to re-identify the department she was with and provide me with a website to find out more. Our call was disconnected while she was giving me the web address. I was not disappointed about that.

As I type this I am receiving an identical phone call from "Anna" at 283-795-3417. There is no information available to me as to who this number belongs.

I received a call this morning from this lady named Linda, saying I was chosen out of 700 people from the government to receive a $7,000 grant that I did not have to pay back; and I would receive it on 3 options. She mentioned I could receive it by cash, direct deposit, and credit card deposit; and I may use the money in any way necessary. I then asked why and how I got chosen. She barely even spoke English. She replied that it was because I paid my taxes, had no bankruptcy issues, and no criminal background. I then thought, 'Okay, that is true; but, how come the government isn't issuing it through return taxes? Isn't that how it's always done?' Then I told her I wanted more information to see what they have, to see if it was true. She told me to call ** and ask for Zachary.

I then called and Patrick answered the phone (another guy not being able to speak English clearly), and told me that he would take my money verification number and do it himself. I said 'okay' and gave him the number. Since I want the money in cash, I was not giving out my bank information. He told me to go to my nearest Western Union station and call him before I walk in, and have $225 deposited to him; then after a few minutes that money will come back to me along with $7,000. I told him to just take that $225 out of my $7,000. He said that they could not for it is a government-sealed envelope with my money. Then I knew it was a scam. He then kept insisting that I deposit the money to him so that I can receive my money. I asked what it was for and he said so it will verify my identity. After all this, I told him not to call -- it's a scam. So for reference, I checked this site. I found out that it has happened to numerous people. This needs to be taken care of as soon as possible! I have to admit, he had me going for a minute there, until he asked me for my own money.

I received a call from a lady named Tracy with a thick accent and she informed me that I had been chosen to receive $7000 of grant money because I have no criminal record, filed bankruptcy, and pay my bills...First of all I grew up knowing that nothing is given to you for free. I asked what was the catch. she provided me a Approval number of DR146 and phone# of 253-655-4861 that I should call to get more information. I called; a lady answer the call and she kind of sounded the same as the lady that called me(TRACY) she advise to basically go to a western union and deposit $215 and she will stay on the phone until all transactions were completed.

I asked her why am I paying out of my pocket if I won $7000 why wouldn't they take it out the amount there giving me. she kept stating that it was a fee to confirmed I am the right individual."come on really if you work for the government that money would had been in my hands" I told her i don't have any money because I am not working, but if I can pick it up so i can pay for my law school..without paying fee...I will be there.... I hung up on her....this is a SCAM MM unless someone from the actual government tells me it is not....let me know if I'm wrong please lol....How is the government giving money; when they don't have it?????

Called trying to to get grants for my daughters college. My daughter saw a link on one of the websites for free money for college. We called and was talking to someone who hardly spoke english and after about 1/2 hour of him trying to explain the program, we decides to try it for $4.99. Then he went on saying we will be billed $49.99 a month for the program, I told him to hold on and explain, he said $4.99 was a try for one week, hello it takes a alot longer to get the grants and with no guaranty of getting.

My daughter and I are going to be homeless 18 days from now. I don't believe that a homeless shelter is a great place for a 10-month old. So, I was thinking that maybe if I apply for a grant, I can get me and my 10-month old some transportation, and still have a little money left over so we can get an apartment; and the money I make from my job was going to add up to what was left over from the grant. Anyhow, it made me hope that God is going to bless me with this and I was banking on it. So, they told me I had to donate money.

I, being gullible, did! I had to donate $100 and maybe 73 dollars. I had to send it through Western Union to India and they told me that once I do that, my money would be in the bank in 45 minutes. I called back an hour later and she picked up saying, "Ma'am, you have to make a security deposit for 350.00 and you will receive it back with your money." I told her that I didn't have that kind of money, and I asked her if she could give me more time to get the 350.00. And at first, she said in a impatient voice, "Ma'am, you have two hours and if you don't have it, we will cancel your case." I said, "Ma'am, why didn't you guys tell me this ahead of time?"

I was so upset! First of all, my child's father is not helping me; and he told me not to do it in the first place but I had no other solution. So, I was destined to get this grant because this is a serious situation that my ten-month old and I are facing. This is serious -- my ten-month old and I will be homeless on the 20th of this month. Anyway, so I called back the next day and I asked her if she could give me some time to get the money. She said, "How much time do you need?" I told her to give me until Friday and she can have it. Before this, I had to give out my routing number and my 11 debit card number and the three numbers on the back. I guess Thursday came and she tried to take the 350.00 out of my account, and she had someone call me, saying that I have a claim filed against my name for fraud when she just needed my card number for something else.

She claims she works at a New York federal bank. So, I took out a loan for 150.00, and one for 200.00; but I cancelled the one for 200.00. Anyway, I got my paycheck that was 178.00, and added it to the loan I took out. And I, once again, sent this money to her through Western Union to India, and to a person with a first name of Data, and the last name of **, for the second time. And she's now talking about how I have to give 2 hundred dollars more and I have to wait for 6 months. I told her this is a real situation and, "I don't know why you guys are playing around like this." She said, "Ma'am, we aren't playing." Then she went to say, "If you want your money back, I can write you a check for the amount you send." And I told her that I will call her back and let her know what I'm going to do. I have every receipt showing that I sent her the money through Western Union and an MTCN number that they asked for. I hope you can help me and my daughter. Please, we need justice.

Received call from and individual today telling me that the Govt is granting me $9000.00 and would like to know how I usually spend my money after telling him that i have been unemployed for quite some time, he then gave me a forwarding number to call and they will instruct me on how to collect and I must wire $195.00 to them in order from them to verify my indenty before they send the money. I knew from inception that it was a scam. After asking him why I had to send money to receive he could not answer I also told him that if the Govt was sending money to idividuals they would have all the pertinent information they needed and further to this they would not ask for money. At this point the person hung up on me.

I immediately called back and told them that I have them on tape and I am an ex employee of the IRS and I knew where they were calling from (411.com) will let you do a phone search fYI. and he apologize for calling and said he will not call again and that they needed to be more careful as to whom they call in future. This tells me they will not stop at it and I am still worried for our Senior Citizens especially.

A man with a foreign accent called me today and said I was selected by the U.S. Government to receive a $7000.00 grant that I did not have to pay back. He called me from **. I asked him how I was selected and he said because I paid my taxes on time and if I had a bankruptcy in the last year or was not working. Well - I find this most disturbing that he was so close to home there, as I did a bankruptcy a few years ago, followed by 14 months of unemployment after being laid off.

I must be an easy mark, because I would love it if the government was really going to give me a $7000.00 grant. I already knew I was not going to give this man the information he needed, but I really wanted to hear what he was going to say. As soon as he said that I was going to need to provide a bank account number I interrupted and said I was at work and was not able to continue. He said he would call back later today. I immediately did a search for U.S. Government Grant scams and "surprise" there it was. I hope our government catches these people. There are so many citizens that are so vulnerable to predators like this. Especially, our senior citizens. I hope this helps!

Foreign-sounding man called my son who has a slight learning disability and told him that he had been chosen from over 20,000 people to receive a grant of $7800. All he had to do was go to Western Union and send $210 to "verify" his identity. He also needed his identification and cell phone with him at WU. He would receive the $7800 plus the $200 within 10 minutes. He even gave him a phone number in DC to call back along with his EE# and name.

Luckily, my son has had it drilled into his head by me, that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. He told the guy he was on his way to Western Union and instead called me. What a scam!

I received a call from this guy with an Indian accent. The number was ** It sounded legitimate at first. He said the government would give me 7,000 and I did not have to pay it back. He asked what I would use it for and, of course, because I am a student, I said school. He then asked for my card number, my cvv number and the expiration date.

I started getting suspicious on why he would need all of that if they were giving me money. So i asked him if there was any way I could verify their business and he said that he could not give me any more information until I gave him my card information. He also said that after it was done, he would transfer me to the accounting manager so they could do the 45 minutes transfer of funds to my account. I just hung up and he did not call back.

I was called at 11:10am on this date and was told that I had a $7,000 grant available because of paying bills, taxes, etc. on time and having no criminal activity. I could claim this $7,000 as cash, direct deposit or to a credit card, but not a check in the mail. I got the information to call for cash and was told to immediately call the phone number provided. I immediately researched this on the internet and I am now at 11:17am filing this complaint.

On June 28th 2011 at 4:15pm, I received a phone call stating that I was one of the few people chosen to receive a special grant in the amount of $7000. My initial thought was how far behind I was in bills and how this could possibly be a blessing in disguise.

It in fact, definitely wasn't. I went on to ask questions to "the voice" and she assured me that it was money due to me for having a good record as a citizen -- no criminal background, no bankruptcies, and a good name. I asked what I would have to do to receive this money because it's well-needed; and I just had knee surgery due to an ACL tear just 5 days ago.

So with me still in pain and in great debt, I was told to go to Western Union and send her $210 to receive $7210 back. I admit to being a tad bit naive now but anyone in my financial situation would have looked at this "blessing in disguise" or wonderful opportunity the same way I did. Of course she instructed me to send the money to someone by the name of Naresh ** in India. And because I had others in front of me, it'd take like 5 or 10 minutes for them to send me my money back.

I filled out the receiving money paper of which I was instructed to do by "the voice" and was told to wait until her manager called me to authorize the transaction. I stood there on crutches for an hour thinking that this was a good thing for me and my family.

But I was wrong. I called back and the office was closed and I was stuck with unanswered questions, the last of my money gone, and my baby girl asking if we could still go to the park. By this time after it was all said and done, it was about 8:30pm.

I'm sending my story in hopes that it will touch the hearts of those who have fallen victim to fraud or scams. I'm still praying that I indeed helped someone in the midst of my troubles.

Beware of ''the voice''.

a lady with an accent called me today sayin I was randomly selected to receive a government grant that I did not have to pay back of $7000 and she told me her named was tracy jones which I found hard to believe judging by her accent and the number she called me from was 875-589-1027. She talk to me for about 15 minutes then gave me a phone number to call 202-470-5867 and she said his name was mick richards and to call him and he would tell me how to receive my money. So I called him and everything sounded ok until he said I was have to pay a $100 dollar fee to wire the money over to western union and he kept askin me how soon could I get to a western union like he was anxious for me to send the money over.

I soon then realized it was a scam and I told him 1 hour and I hung up. And I google in what happened and found this website with lots of complaints on it with people who actually went out and spent some money to scammers EXACTLY like that. But I can't be tricked that easy, mama didn't raise no fool. But what I want to know is how the hell they got my name and phone number in the first place??????

I was contacted and told I was awarded a federal grant of 50,000. it sounded on the level at first.I gave them the info they asked for concerning my debt card.they(he benz) stated it would be in my bank the next day 6/22/11. On the afternoon of the 22nd a lady (donna) to Say they could only transfer 42,000.I was to go to western union And pay 400 to get 8400. I told her I don't have that I work payday to payday and need the money I do have. if this is a grant and on the up and up why am I paying anything.she said it was to her bank to cover the transfer fee and it would go to feed the homeless and the earthquake victims in haiti.I said I would call her back.I decided to google government grant fraud and came across a women who has the same story as mine.what a scam.

He contacted me via telephone and stated I qualified for a free government loan which did not need to be paid back and can be used in anyway I needed. He asked me to wire him through Money Grahm $400 for a processing fee and then he would wire me the $7000 grant within 10 seconds but money never came. He is now asking for $800 more. I called my mom and she contacted Mr. Johnson and he stated that I cannot have my $400 because the process for the loan has been started already and hung up and told her there was nothing further to discuss unless we send $800 more. Please advise concern this is a scam.

telling me that I had been awarded a 10,000.00 Grant. All I and to to do was send 100.00 donation to India, New Deliha ok! So I westurn Unioned the money. I then was told to call the bank to talk about the transfer only to fined the I had to send another 350.00 to for the bank transfer fee. I really did not have the money to do this, but I figured I was going to get it back, so I did.

Well I gave them a transfer bank account number and routing number. They said that they would do it in a few minutes, well then it went to the next day. Than they said that they had tried several times to make the transaction, at this piont I was very very upset. They told mne that they could not do it again even though I had all of the information, because they said that I gave the worng information, they need a routing number. Well then they said" We had to send the money back to the bank it was coming from.

Well the onlu way to do it was to then westurn union the more money to westurn uinon it 350.00 again. Well I did not have any more money thank God. I have talked to him sence then and he still wants me to send him the money to get the 10,000.00 You know I told this man right to his face that I had kids and this was all the money I had . He even said that he had kids and understood and would grarentee my money being sent through westurn Union. I was surely taken by this man, he seemed very convencing. I lost out on 450.00 of my hard earned money. Well i know that it was my fault for falling for this. But I hope i can ssave anothor person from being scammed.

i recieved a call from a woman with a foreign accent,claiming to work in the federal grant department. claiming that i was one of the individuals chosen to recieve $7000.00 in free grant money. as she continued to talk she explained that she needed some of my information such as a credit card or savingsor checking account number in order to direct deposit the money.

i gave her the number to my prepaiy debit card. she then stated that as a part of this grant being given to me that i needed first to go to the nearest western union and wire $99.00 to her supervisor and then i would recive the $7000.00, in 45 minutes on my debit card and when i was ready to sent the money to call this number# 206-317-3987 and pay her the $99.00 to rose anderson.

doing this deed to people. but if i ever here you voice within beat-down distance, i'm going to beat the accent out of you for waiting me up with the b#######!!!!! scam.

I was to offer #WGG1012 as my grant number and call the finance department at 202-407-9094 to recieve my "grant" money

On May 4, a person claiming to be Jason *** with the US Department of Federal Grants notified me that the grant had been approved. He said it was in the amount of $6000, and he then said that I needed to submit a $200 processing fee in order to receive the grant money. I submitted the processing fee, through a Western Union, and have included the details below. The types of fees and taxes that needed to be paid continued over the next several days, through the 10th of May. Along with the amount of the grant I was to receive, it kept growing, as I was to receive back all of the money I had sent in, except for a couple of minor fees. I ended up working with his "supervisor", Nick ***.

During this time, I strongly questioned the individual, and began requesting my money back. His response was that if I wanted to cancel the application, I would not receive the money back, and that anything I put in would be given to a charity. I determined that this had to be a scam, and reported the incident to Western Union. There were a couple of times when I sent money naming myself as the recipient. I do not recall the details of why we had done that.

One week later, I received a call from Josh ***, still claiming that he was from the US Department of Government Grants, and that he was calling to resolve the situation, as I had not received my money yet. He added the amounts that I had spent up to that point to the amount, and the "grant" grew to about $10,400 approximately. He was very convincing in his speech and approach. I was then passed on to his supervisor, John ***, and I worked with John *** for a number of days, and spent more money, all with the promise of getting my grant money to me. He even sent me an email at my insistence, quantifying the amount I was to receive, and showing that it was a Federal Grant. I was able to reply to the address successfully, until today.

Then, I called Nick *** back at the first number, and he did not know a John *** (but John *** was aware of how much I had spent, etc.). Nick *** then promised that my grant money was ready, and that he had completed the processing, and was ready to transfer the money to me ($11,200). By this time, Western Union was no longer accepting money from me to send out, so I had to send the money through a friend. I ended up sending more money, and then getting MTCN numbers from him for two $5600 transfers, neither of which I received.

A couple of days later, my friend received a call from the same location John *** works at (not the location I sent money to through his name), saying he had been approved for the same grant amount I had (by this time, over $22,000), and all he had to do was pay the excise taxes of $1100. My friend declined to do so. Then, John *** said he could transfer the amount for my friend over to my grant, and I would receive the entire amount of approximately $45,000, and could split the amount with my friend. I paid the amounts,and the money was to be transferred to my checking account that day (Friday, May 27). No money has been transferred into my account.

Two other contact names are George *** and Sam *** at 347-468-9438. Sam supposedly donated $1000 from his own pocket toward the $2400 "excise taxes" due for the money that would be sent to me, because of how much money I had spent on this. On 5.30.11, I filled out a police report with the Avondale Police Department in Avondale, AZ, who then submitted the report to their internal department of fraud investigations. The subsequent detective has since forwarded the case to the FBI. I have also filed this with ic3.

Since that date, on 6.2.11, I did receive communication, now from another individual by the name of Rojit *** from an unknown number. He assured me on his Indian code of honor that the funds of $46,775 would be transferred to my account, and that all that was needed was to pay the taxes and then to pay the fee to change the amount from Indian Rupees to US dollars. The taxes would amount to 2.5%. I did succumb to this request, and sent them the amount of $1636.25 (plus a $20 MoneyGram fee) on Wednesday, the 1st of June.

They had said that the last fee, a 3.25% transfer fee to change it to US currency, would need to be paid by Friday, June 3, and the money would then be transferred into my account. Before doing this final transaction, I spoke with my wife about it, as I determined I could do no more without gaining prior approval of my wife (which I should have done in the first place). We did not make this final transaction, and a call came in this morning from the same person, and I spoke to him only to give him the name and phone number of my attorney, and telling him that any transactions would have to be approved by my attorney.

The former person, John ***, then called my attorney, and the following occurred, as per my attorney: "I later received a call from someone with a heavy foreign accent called himself John ***. He said he would not be calling me if it was a fraud. I asked him to send me information regarding the date and state of incorporation and financial statements for his organization. He said he can only do that once the grant had been approved. I told him that I wanted to speak with the house attorney. At that point he hung up the phone and did not call back. " I have since installed an application on my smart phone that blocks unidentified calls from coming through, and those calls are sent straight to voice mail.

I have also blocked any number that these individuals have called from that is identified as well. On 6.4.11, received a call from 206.866.5894. Jason ***, the first person who had called me, was calling back. I did not converse with him, but simply gave him my attorney's name and number and said if there was any validity to the offer, he could discuss it with my attorney. I then hung up, and put the phone number on my Call Control Application as a blocked number.

May 31st, I received a call. She left a message saying her name was Samantha and she was calling about a government grant and the number she left was **. So I called her back and she said that I qualified for a government grant of $50. She asked a few questions. I did give her my debit card number, but the next day I called my bank. Also, June 1st I received another call from a woman named Donna; her number is 88. She is claiming to be following up on the other woman's call from the day before. She told me that I needed $400 to prove that I was who I said I was and that if I went to Western Union, I had $8400 waiting for me. And after I got that they would deposit the rest of the money in my checking account. No damage done, thank goodness. I just wanted to let the appropriate people know. Hope this helps.

A man just called me from a strange phone number, 234-789-856. The number had me on guard from the start. The man said he had called to tell me that I was chosen to receive a $7000 dollar grant from the US government because my family pays their taxes on time and does not have a criminal background. He said that the money would be transferred to me in 45 minutes. He needed my account information. He could have the money deposited through any debit or credit card or I could give him my savings account number. I would then receive a confirmation number before we ended the call and he would give me call back information in case I needed anything. I told him I didn't have my information with me because I did not feel comfortable giving out that type of information. I asked him if he could transfer the funds to the school I am attending. I assumed if it was a grant, I was eligible for it because I was a student. Therefore, he should have no problem giving the money to my school.

He seemed confused as to why I would even consider having the money transferred to my school and then told me no. But again he asked if I was at school right now. He told me he could call me back at a better time. I said okay. He said he would call again tomorrow with more information. I asked him the name of the "government program" that is rewarding these grants. He repeated himself saying the US government is rewarding these grants to families who pay their taxes on time and do not have criminal backgrounds. The man had a very thick Indian accent. There was a lot of background noise as though he was calling from a crowded room. This operation is very shady and I hope that others are smart and do not give out their personal information to strangers who offer them free money, as I am sure they would use your account information to steal people's hard earned money. I hope that reporting this situation helps others who are contacted by these people.

I was called at 11:24 am on 05/24/2011 from a phone number **; the name was unavailable. There was a lot of background noise like they were calling from a call center. The woman I spoke with had a thick Indian accent. She told me I had been selected by the federal government to receive a one-time grant of $7000.00.

She then asked me how I would like the money transferred to me. I told her I would like it deposited into my account using my debit card. I gave her the number of my NH child support MC, knowing fully well there is no money in that account nor will any money be deposited to that account. She then told me I would need to call the approval department back at 202-905-0699 and give them my confirmation number RO447. I called this number and spoke to another woman who told me my money would be transferred into my account in 45 minutes, but that first of all, people receiving this grant had to make a mandatory one-time contribution to Feed the Homeless of $100.00.

I said, "Ok, so you can just send me the money and take the $100.00 to fulfill my obligation directly from that." She then told me that it must be sent Western Union to the correct department and that they couldn't take it out of my grant. I said to her, "Well, that seems a little odd, don't you think?!" She then said, "Are you going to do it or what?" I said no.

I further said, "I don't feel comfortable doing this. If the government wants to give me money, they know where I live and what my account numbers are. But I won't be holding my breath. There are many other single mothers out there who have it much worse off than me. So I'm sorry, but I will be keeping my hard-earned money." She then hung up on me. If they continue to call, my local police station will be receiving a call from me.

I received a phone call from a lady at first saying that I was picked for a Federal Grant from the US Grants Department and that I would get a check from the Us Federal Reserve. They had my information already but wanted me to confirm my account info. I confirmed my account info with them not really thinking about it, she then said, "I will give you a confirmation number", that I need to give to her supervisor. I called her supposed supervisor and gave him the number, he then told me that I would need to do a small fee that would be donated to Homeland Security.

He also told me I would need to do it through Western Union as a money transfer. I thought about it for a second and told him I have a few questions. I asked him first if I could have the website to look at but he told me the website had been hacked and is undergoing maintenance. I said OK there's been business and company's getting hacked lately so I told him as soon as I get off work I would go to the Western Union place and send it. He asked how long till I get off, I told the guy 2 hours and he said OK and told me to call him when I get there.

I went to the Western Union and called him, got the money transfer paper and he told me what I needed to fill out (Send Amount(Dollars)$110 Receiver Information Maya ** City Delhi State India, Choose A Service Money In Minutes). After filling it out I started questioning him about why is it being sent to India Homeland Security. He said it was a donation to a company they deal with. I asked him what the company name was, he didn't want to give it to me and said to just send it to the Receiver and in 45min I would get $7000 deposited into my account.

I asked him for the website again and he said it's down because it was hacked. I asked him if I can have the website address anyway to see it down just to confirm what he was saying, but he didn't want to give it so I asked him for an 800 are 877 number. He didn't want to give me one so I told him I forgot to stop at the bank to get the cash to send the money transfer. He said to go to the bank and call him back when I did the money transfer.

I went on and started looking up US Grants Department and found other people have been getting the same phone calls and same lines said to them. I called the first number but got a busy signal so I call the guy to question him and he starts getting mad and hangs up on me. So I waited and called him back, he says hi and my name and asked if I went to send the money. I told him no and told him what I found out online and he started getting mad and said your money's here, do you want it because if not the Government will take it back.

I asked again for an 800 are 877 number and email address or website, but he still didn't want to give me any so I told him how can a government website that deals with large grants get hacked. He got pissed and hung up on me. So I contacted my bank to let them know about the company and what could I do. They told me to monitor my account and if something does come up to report it and then I would need to change my account number. I am still monitoring my account to make sure they don't try to take money out my account.

I got a called from this number ** on 5/14/2011 said that they work at U.S. Federal Government and I was selected to get a Pell Grant for $8,867. They told me to go to Western Union Bank and they will help me to get my money. When I got there, it didn't seem like they're helping me to get the money. They told me to paid four payment to able to received my money.

I knew that something is wrong, but then I thought maybe I'm going to get the money from them, too. So, I went and paid $200 and sent it to India. I have no idea why they told me to send it to India if it is from the govt. When I asked them about why I have to paid to India, they said they work together. After that, they told me to pay another $801. Total all of the payment that I sent to them was about $2,332. I don't know what to do. Can anyone help me? Because I need my money back and get them arrested. Please help.

I wrote your service requesting information about how to handle a company that offers assistance on granting writing online. I told you how they promise to help me search for college grants, write proposal for grants and how to research for government grants to start a business and to pay utilities, rent, and bills. I was told that I would receive a CD that would provide me the information that they reported they had. After several days I received the tape, read it and noticed the information promised was not available. I emailed the company immediately and learned from a man named Cassey, that the money the company had taken from Checking would not be returned because of some strange rule they have as far as when I ordered the CD. They stated they never received the email. Also, they stated I was to use the service with the CD. I complained that was impossible. They said that their policy did not state that if I was not satisfied with the merchandise that I could be refunded my payment. This person Cassey was the only person answering the phone and refuses to give me the owner's name, telephone, or license number.

The economic and physical damage to me in this case is that I have little or no money to pay a company that has been bent on lying to their customers. This grant services had a lot of sites that stated they were under construction. Furthermore, the information they advertised was not available on the CD. I sent to use the merchandise because I wanted to search available services such as grants and government funding programs that I could request some type of funding to start a business of some type. I never received what was advertised and now my account has been depleted of the small amount I have to live on. I'm complaining about false advertisement and lies used by a company that is not willing to provide a viable service.

They said I was chosen to receive a federal grant in the amount of $7000.00, and I could only use this money for house payment, education or to buy a new car. He said I needed to go to Western Union and he would call me from there in 15 minutes and stay on the phone with me while my money was being deposited onto a credit card. I did not fall for this. I hope they catch whoever is doing this.They said I was chosen to receive a federal grant in the amount of $7000.00, and I could only use this money for house payment, education or to buy a new car. He said I needed to go to Western Union and he would call me from there in 15 minutes and stay on the phone with me while my money was being deposited onto a credit card. I did not fall for this. I hope they catch whoever is doing this.

I found a grant program online. The name of the company is called GrantAssist.com. I was told that there was a 7-day trial period to use the program. I received a CD in the mail about 3-4 days after ordering the program. I went online and discovered that there was some information about grants, but the information for grants to start a business, and to access income for personal use was not there. I contacted the company to terminate the service, which I did, and I received an email that the service was terminated. This week, I checked my checking account and discovered that $27.97 was deducted from my checking by GrantAssist.com.

I received a call from a foreign man claiming to be a representative of the United States Government Grants Department, stated I was one of 1500 chosen by the government to receive a $7000 grant. I was chosen because I pay my taxes and I pay my bills on time and have not requested any funds or aid from the government.. They told me I could not use the money for gambling, but only for home improvement or to pay off a debt. He asked me what I would use the money for and I stated to pay off a debt. He stated, "Good. The money will be transferred in 45 minutes, you just have to call my supervisor back at ** and her name is Callie ** and your grant number or confirmation number is **".

I told him I wanted the money deposited into my checking account and I gave him my routing number, but never gave him my account number. I wanted to see if he'd ask for it, but didn't, so I didn't supply it. He did ask me my date of birth and also told me what my home address was, I just confirmed it. He had information on me, where he obtained it from I do not know. I did, however, think it odd that the government would just be handing out money for free. Yeah right, not! The phone number that dialed my phone could not be redialed and came in "unknown. "

They called my home phone and also my cell phone claiming that I was picked to receive a $7,000 Federal grant. I just had to have $215.00 in a bank account before the so-called grant would be transferred. Just like the other complaints, foreign voices the phone which hung up on me 4 times. Please listen carefully. It is not good to call back the last spoken representative and inform them that I was reporting to authorities because they would hung up. If you get a call don't do it.

I received a cell phone call from Ricky ** stating that he's call was to notify me that I was granted a $5,000 U.S. Government grant. He asked that I verify the information he had and I asked that he tell me what he had. He had my name, address, cell phone number, and the last four of my SSN. I was given a grant approval number of ** and was to call back at 2026843389 and ask for Jason **, the Department Manager. I called the number and spoke to the number just to verify where they were calling from. When I asked for their location, he hesitated as if searching for the right answer. He finally said Washington DC and that he would call back in 15 minutes to verify delivery of my money.

My concern is that these people now have cell phone numbers and personal information. At this point, no economic effect has resulted, but how long will it take if they have all my personal information. These representatives all speak with foreign accents, which cannot be a concern since all support is contracted to foreign call centers. How can citizens protect themselves when our personal information is so available to criminals?

Called and stated that I was chosen by the US government to receive 7,000.00 and I was to pay 199.00 to a charity first via western union. I did not pay. They did talk me into my bank account and routing # before I figured it out.

She called, saying that I qualified for government grant money. She then asked if I want it direct deposit or cash Western Union. She further informed that for a $7000 direct deposit, there's a fee of $299 non-refundable and for Western Union, $199 refundable.

I keep receiving a call from individuals with foreign accents claiming they are with the US Government and that I qualify for a $7000 grant. They wanted to know how I was going to receive the funds and I told them I wanted a check. They said they don't do that because people were complaining it took too long to receive the money. So he said I had to give him my bank or debit card number, which I did not. Now they won't stop calling me. The number shows up as unknown so I'm not sure where they are calling from. They call my cell phone, which wastes my minutes. How do I get them to stop calling me? They are so annoying!

I got unsolicited call from "US Government Grants" with a grant for me, because I pay my taxes and have not filed bankruptcy. The background noise was obviously a call center. He refused to give me his contact info or name. He did give me the listed number to call back, along with a "grant ID". He listed Mark ** as his supervisor. The indicators that this was a scam are the following: First, the reverse telephone number lookup is "unpublished". The government public offices do not generally have "unpublished" numbers as main lines. Second, he also had the wrong address for me. US government has the right address. The tag "US Government Grant Department" has been used in previous scams.

Some foreigner called and said that I was entitled to a $7,000.00 government grant because I paid my taxes yearly and some other **. He said that the money would be deposited today. I just had to give my credit card number or checking account information. I told him to forget it and to mail me a check. He then gave me a confirmation number and the name of an account manager, Nancy **, and the phone number of ** . He said that I needed to call her to confirm my grant and the check would be mailed to me. I called this "Nancy **" who also was obviously not American. I could hardly understand her middle-eastern accent. I told her that I wanted to confirm my grant. She wanted my phone number again to call me back. At that point, I told her that I'd had enough of their scam and would be turning them into the authorities. Then, she hung up on me.

I was contacted and was told that I was granted $7000 in grant money. I was given a number and told to call so that I could receive money. The woman who I talk to have told me to go to Western Union and send a $199 deposit to verify my identity and that it would be refunded back to me with the $7000. She told me that I would get a call from someone higher to release the funds that never happened and when I tried to call them back, the phone stayed busy.

The money came out my son's account and now, I don't have money for his Christmas stuff that hurt because I gave so much that I don't have.

It all came from the internet. Free grants. Our grant was for roof repair, insulation and general home repair. I had to give my credit no to pay 5000 dollars to get the packet which would be refunded if you get the free grant or not. After I got to looking at my receipt, I figured I was scammed. All of the people who I talked to didn't use real names. Now, I don't know what will happen. I called my credit card company and turned it in and they figured it was a scam and to destroy the card but the 5000 had been talked out already.

They called and said that I was picked for $10,000 grant that I didn't have to pay back to the government. The reason was for not have a criminal record and paying my taxes. I gave them my account #.

I was called by a woman claiming to be from the United States government. She said I had been chosen along with 1700 other individuals to receive a free $5000 grant. She claimed I was picked from a demographic survey conducted in December of 2009 and was eligible because I had not received any money from the government within 6 months and had no criminal record. I know this is wrong because I collect state unemployment almost every year and I have a minor criminal record. After confirming my address, which she had correct, I was directed to call a phone number, which she provided, and speak to her supervisor, John **. I was to give him the provided confirmation number ** and he would then be able to release the funds.

A woman who said she was Susan ** (she spoke broken English) told me to call Ricky **, who spoke with an accent, too. He said he would call back; he hasn't so far. I just want to stop this scam.

Rufina called me at about 8:00 pm on September 2, 2010. She told me that I was being awarded a $5000 grant. I was one of the 700 people picked in the Webster, MA area that pay their bills and did not have a criminal record. This is what she said qualified me. She knew my name and address and phone number. She gave me a grant approval number and said to call Jessica, her supervisor, to collect the money. I didn't call but received a call from Jessica about 1:00 pm on 9/3. She said that I could give her my bank account and they would transfer the money. I asked her to send a check and she said that wasn't possible. She wanted me to go to a Western Union branch and give them a $215 security deposit and call her on the phone and she would refund the security right on the spot as soon as I collected the $5000. I didn't do anything.

He called me and said that I was approved for a five thousand dollar government grant and all I had to do was go to Western Union and pay for any charity that I wanted. When I told him that I had a hard time doing that, he told me to send a Western Union in the amount of $50 dollars to Mr **, which I did, and they told me that the money would be in my account the next day.

I called my bank and the money wasn't in there. I try to call the guy but I got a answering machine with a British lady voice on it. I hope some one can do something about this. Due to this, I don't have enough money to go grocery shopping and to get my kids pull ups or money to take the bus to work.

The number on my caller ID read unknown number but I got the idiot to give me his phone number, that is ****. He had a distinctly East Indian accent but said he was calling from the US Government in Los Angeles, California. He said his name was John ****. He asked me if I had heard that Mr. President' had approved everyone to receive a US Government grant. I told him I had not heard that. He said "Oh, it's true! " He said he was going to give me $5,000 from the US Government that I never had to pay back. All I had to do was give him my bank name and bank account number over the phone so they could direct deposit it. I asked him what percentage success he had with this scam. He said 100%. I called **** and talked to another man with a distinct East Indian accent. Put a stop to this scam!

I made an inquiry online regarding government grants for small businesses. There was a $2.97 charge to see how to apply, which I agreed upon. I looked at information & in the 1st sentence realized there were no grants for small business that I could quality for. My debit card was billed $2.97 & also $57.61. I called & was told there is a monthly charge if you don't the cancel service. They agreed to credit my account for $40.00. They kept the $17.00 for what I don't know.

In Oct 2008, I received post card in the mail pertaining to grant funding. I spoke with Alicia then a Rosa. I went through a 45-minute interview about my business. How much money I needed? All through the last one and a half years, they assured me that they got my $1.5 million from a nonprofit company. But they required me to become nonprofit with my business. So, to donate 5% of that money to another nonprofit group, all in all this whole process during almost the last 2 years cost me around 8-9 thousand dollars.

And they just kept promising me that the check was ready to go. In April 2010, a Paul ** called and said we are filing with the IRS a temporary EIN #. For me to be able to receive the money of $1.5 million, it will cost 2,700 dollars. Again, I wired the money as I did all the times before. He assured me that they needed to get the funds out by the 15th of May and we needed to hurry and do this final process. I heard nothing further. I called over and over. I got no return calls for GBFunding.

Despite being on the Do-Not-Call Registry, I received a call from a heavily-accented man who called himself "Mark ***" from US Gov Grants. It took several attempts before I actually understood the name of the company. I told him that I was on the Do-Not-Call Registry and should not be receiving any calls from them and wished to be removed from their list. He became abusive and extremely offensive. Calling me a *** and several other names as I hung up on him. I was very disturbed and upset about this call, and now feel extremely vulnerable that these people are disregarding the laws of the land and the will of the people and may call back at any time. I looked up their number or at least the one that showed up on the caller ID but the area code is not in service in this country. The call almost certainly came from abroad.

I received a call from the above individuals stating that I have received a grant of $8,000.00 from the Federal, Health and Human Resources. The information asked from me were my date of birth, my address, and the last four digits of my Social Security Number. He asked how should the check be delivered, through a bank account or through the mail.

He gave me an approval number- **, and I was told that a check will be received by me in 4 days. I called the above number and my call was returned by a person who identified himself as Albert **. My daughter intervened the call and asked if they can send the application for the grant, and that she did not want me to give any information over the phone. The individual then hung up abruptly.

I was called and given by the caller my name, address. They asked for my city and zip code and wanted my age. They said to call and give the money code SE005 to receive the $5,000 grant.

I need my money back. They stated that I could get a grant for paying $25.00! There is no such luck!

i sent 300 to get 5000. i have not got my money yet

He called me at home to tell me I had been selected to receive 15,000 in government grants. He asked to confirm my address and gave me a grant approval number and a telephone to call (202-) and confirm my grant. When I called, Bill C. answered and said that they would send me the grant via mail or to my back acct or to my credit card. They said that to conclude the process I had to pay with my credit card over the phone $99.00 to them stating it is the processing fee for the bank issuing the check. Observation: both men had indian accents. I told them that i was reading this website and that you are trying to scam me. they said it was not and that the only way I would get the grant money is if paid $99.00. I told them before i hung up that you are trying to scam me and it didnt work, you are now being reported. isnt there a task force that can trace the number above and stop them. its in Washington DC.

I am grateful to whomever had this similar experience and posted it on this site you saved me. but in the back of my head i knew that Grants if you do get one are 100% free. no processing fees involved. They didnt get me because of this site. had the exact same situation as i was on the phone with them. so for this site i am grateful.

This was one of the things that convinced me the whole thing was a scam. After the phone call I called the customer service number to find out if the offer was authentic. The person who answered did not state the companies name, could not be understood over the background noise and was not at all what you would expect to find in an office building. After I hung up, they called back with the same problems. SCAM! I was very careful about the information given and did not go to western union as I thought it was a scam. I can see though how these people would make lots of money off of people who are more trusting than!

Peter O. confirmed that I was the owner of the telephone number he called. He got the spelling of my name & verified my address. I was selected for a $7,000.00 grant for taking the census. He wanted me to make a $99 dollar donation to a charity. I had to call John C. at 202- immediately after my phone call with Mr. O. in order to set up receiving my grant money which was completely free & could be used to pay bills. He wanted to make sure that I would not use the money for gambling. He even gave me a grant confirmation number to give to Mr. C.1 in order to receive the grant money. He informed me that I could receive the money much faster if I chose the direct deposit method. I did not fall for this scam but I want to warn people. They are out there to capitalize on hard times.

I thought I was spending $2. I would have never signed up for $58 a month to see a web page. I was okedoked. Please help stopped this !! also go to fed-pck.com they are rip-offs,

Every receptionist after the first call was rude or hung up on me. They wouldn't take my calls. They lied about the content on there website in order to get me to give my credit card information over to them. Then they hassled when I tried to get a refund.

The site was obviously just a bunch of links thrown together that you could Google to find. This is a scam! There was no simple application like I was told. When the receptionist finally refunded my money, they yelled at me!

I don't know how they got my bank number from my unemployment (EPPICard) but $69.95 was charged to my account. There is no legitimate email address. I kept typing the addresses and they do not have any Web site--imagine that. All that came up was a scam prevention site which also said, "Help build your company's reputation." What is that? I got this from a confirmation email they had sent.

FAFSA and PHEAA are real sites but still, make sure you get the correct site. Please, everyone, beware of what is in your accounts. They are now hacking our unemployment accounts and you have to first report the unauthorized access to EPPICard. Ask for a dispute form to be sent immediately, don't wait, then get your money out. You won't be able to get the money that is on hold for the ripoffs but get the rest.

Leave $4 in, that's what it costs to get a new card. Next, call EPPICard back and cancel your card. As soon as you get the dispute paper, send it in. It takes three to four weeks for you to get an answer and possibly your money back so don't waste any time. And watch out for those scams--fine print online ads are made to get you, trial for this or that. You can probably do without most of it anyway. Thank you for your time. Hope it doesn't happen to you.

I was looking for a grant to help pay for medical bills while my daughter was in the hospital. I e-mailed USA grant applications and they requested a one time flat fee of $24.95. They also stated that if the grant was turned down, they would return our money back onto the credit card. They have now took another $24.95 from my husband's credit card. We have not heard one thing from USA grant applications since I first contacted them back in January of 2010.

I agreed to have my bank account debited for $2.97 setup fee. There was no indication more than that would be debited and that I must go to the website sent to me in an email within 24 hours. On a hunch, I called them at the number provided in their email to me and it turns out they were set to debit an additional $57.31 from my account. My checking account balance and available balance had a $50+ discrepancy. They told me they would refund only a portion. I told them I would get a lawyer and sue, plus I would contact my State AG. They will refund the $57.31, but not the $2.97. Small as it is, I want that back too. I have supporting emails from them with a confirmation number. This is a scam and smells of fraud. Their Terms and Conditions should be on their home page.

Beware of government grant websites that are .com. Look for .gov websites. I got results because I got very angry and "hit" the right buttons. I will still make a formal complaint to the State of Washington AG's Office.

I received a call today stating that due to paying taxes on time, I was guaranteed $7,000 from free government grant. I thought it was scam. My husband told me to give them our prepaid MasterCard number. Upon giving them that number, they gave me a confirmation number and said to call 213-985-3301 to verify the information. When I called them, they said that they would call back in 30 minutes. After that, no call. So I called back. They said that they had to verify information. They put me on hold and then was disconnected. Now, I cannot contact anyone at the number provided.

She promised me I would receive $25,000. I only had to pay $69.00, and I thought, "Wow, I need this great deal." But I felt too rushed, and I heard a lot of people in the background jumping into this deal. I need to know more. I hung up the phone, looked it up, and found out that it cost only $24.00 to receive Government Grant Guide. With what little information I gave them, they called back right away. I told them I will not need their service. She told me it's not up to me now and that they will be procing my card.

Looked at website and only gave my address, phone number and email address. When I saw that I was going to be charged, I erased everything. I was not only charged $1.89 the 1st month, but was charged $59.60 for next two months. How they got my debit card no. without me giving it, was beyond me.

When I called the 800 number they told me that the $59.60 was a charge for visiting their website (even though I never went back). As a result, I had to go through the hassle of canceling my debit card. I would like to know if some kind of sanction can be placed against them? I lost money plus they caused aggravation when I had to cancel my debit card and went without one for two weeks.

When I found out that it was a scam, I called them in July 2009 to cancel and refund the money for May and June 2009. Now we found out that they did not cancel and have been charging $19.97 every month to my Mileage Plus Visa charge card account. Rachel ** says that they do not have any proof that I contacted them previously. They cannot do anything and there is no one to complain about. I want them to refund the money for 9 months.

I received a letter and check from Elephan & Castle Grant Co. along with a check for $3,919.00 saying I had been awarded a grant in the amount of $40,000. It gave the customer service number and the letter said it is not a loan. When I called, they would tell me how to pay my processing fee. I called and got a foreigner who was hard to understand. And he said I would have to take money out of my bank and send for taxes on the $40,000. I immediately knew this was a big scam but the check for $3,918 is very real. So, I am not sure what would happen if I tried to deposit that. It probably wouldn't pay out. There may be no such company. Anyway, I would never send a dime for something I supposedly won!

This lady called me in response to an application I filled out on the Internet with regards to a small business grant. Not exactly believing the story, I declined to give out personal information. I then did a reverse search on the phone number and discovered that it was a Canadian number, most likely private. This inspired me to look deeper into grant scams, and lo and behold, my intuition was correct. It was a scam. These and others like them, (Internet terrorists) as I see them should be prosecuted for their crimes on the unsuspecting. I suffered no loss other than time, but the fact that these people are allowed to operate makes me mad enough to drive up to Canada and kick somebody's **. Thank God, at least we have a border to help keep these people out of America. If an attorney wishes to pursue this particular case, I would be happy to offer my testimony.

I was often spammed with offers for US Government Grants, so I clicked to find out more eventually. I was redirected to a website Grants For You Now which did not offer much insight until I was asked to register and login at the cost of $1.99. I felt that was money I did not mind risking just to know more about what the website was about, so I registered and they got hold of my credit card information. The next thing I knew, I received confirmation of the $1.99 from Lisa **, but then there followed another amount of $94.89 instantly which was not part of the agreement. I complained and requested that Lisa ** return the money as I have now been able to see that the product was for US citizens of which am not. The woman insisted that I must try it for 88 days after which I was to file for a refund which they will pay within 3 to 5 days, they wrote.

I kept trying to apply for my refund but their server always auto responded counting down the supposed days left before I could apply. So finally, the day came and I was allowed to download a refund request form which I was to fill and submit by fax or email. I emailed it, but till today I never got my money back nor did I receive further response from Lisa ** or her workers. I never got my refund of $94.89 which Lisa ** promised to pay when I apply after 88 days trial of her grants offer. I knew as soon as I was able to see what her website was about that it was not for me since I am not an American. I told her so that there was no need to wait 88 days till I get my refund as I would never be able to get the benefit of the product.

Women on the phone offered govenment grant money for school, house, bussiness, etc., She took email but already knew my address! At the end of the conversation asked for a credit card for 2.90 to activate all the paper work and account. They have called incessantly over the past several days, sometimes 5 times in one day even after I said I was not interested.

On 11/24/09 they hit my bank account for 39.94 - no problem. But they hit it again on 11/25/09, causing an overdraft on my bank account. It wasn't until the 27th of November that they credited my account for the second 39.95, however I'm still stuck with the 35.00 overdraft fee which in short is a good share of my grocery money for the week.

What really hurts also is that we are in the process of taking out bankruptcy because of $80,000 in medical bills due to the fact that I had the gall to have a heart attack and as 4 month shy of my plan 65 insurance. I have not been able to find a job, even a part time one so now I stuck again because I though I could possible get some help.

Between my husband's social security and mine we make too much for help from SSI, but not enough to make all the bills that come due and heaven help us if we have to have something repaired...car, appliance etc. I am stuck with a 35.00 overdraft fee which I would like replaced as it should have never occurred had they only charge account the 1 time.

Grant Funding Express. Was connected by phone about financing I was trying to locate for a vocational school I was interested it for employment.(presently unemployed) Was told I would receive a free CD + 6.95 shipping, and free access to their website for 7 days (39.95)a month after, unless i canceled. Tried to cancel but all phone #,s either no longer in service or a answering service. (no calls returned). Had my bank stop all charges on my debit and issue a new card. HOPE THIS TAKES CARE OF IT??

I do not remember the ladies name I spoke to bu I was guaranteed a grant for $40,000.00. I was told that they would write the grant for me and I was guaranteed to receive theis money. I was told that it would cost me $1,150.00 for them to write this grant. The also guaranteed me that if no grant was found I would receive my money back. This took place in June 2009. I have not heard from anyone. I called them on two occasions. The first call I was told to "watch the mail the check was coming".

The next call I made was in September 2009 and I was told someone would get back to me. Needless to say no one called me back. In October 2009 I called again and this time I told them I wanted my money back and that they are a scam and I would call my lawyer. I was given an address to write to them- Wealth Power Systems Resolution Dept. 7965 South 700 East, Sandy, Utah 84070 to request my money back.

It is now Novenber 2009 and I have not heard from anyone. These people are a total fraud and they are preying on the public. They are using our President's name and his stimulas information to sucker us. They need to be investigated and made to return all the money they have taken from poor people. The idea of a grant is good. We need the money to do various things, home repairs and the like. But to just lie to people is in-human and ridiculous. I very much need my money back.

was told i would recieve 5000 if i paid 199 but the 199 would be refunded the next day when i recieved my 5000 check by a agent of the govt i was told to get cash for the 199 and take it to the nearest western union call the number they gave me and they would walk me thru the steps on how to send the money to verify my identiy

I did send $100 and gave him the transfer code. He then said to hold on so he can open the account. He had me on hold and never came back. I asked western union if I could get the money back but i was told that the money had been picked up. I kept calling and he did not answer his phone. I next called the phone number of the the first person who called me and no answer. I then got a call who said he was Kevin M and the problem is that this is a holiday so the banks are having a problem transfering the money. he said the transfer should be done in a few hours. I kept asking for a copy of the wire transfer for security and he said they do not do that, he said there were over 500 people getting this money and I am the only one complaining.

I then asked for my money back. He said he was putting a stop on the $25,000 transfer and will mail me a check for $100. I called the bank which was closed and next I got a call from the bank phone number. The person said he was at the bank that was open in California and the transfer should happen shortly. I said ok. He asked for the transfer to be sent to India and all of the people I talked to had and Indonesian accent.

I sincerely hope something can be done to stop them from steeling from innocent people.

This person called me and said for 2.95 they would send me a package and a free CD. Have not received anything. Got online and found they were scam artists. I wrote to the Attorney General and they sent me a complaint form for Federal Grant Scam. The only charge i have as of now is $2.95.

Grants express has stolen over $400 from my bank acc. without my permission. I bought only a CD for one dollar. I am disabled and my daughter has just died. I am already under stress and I sure don't need this on top of everything else.

I was told I was elgible for a free Gov. grant. I'm worried about identity theft

I was called at home after dinner- and Steve Williams told me that i was randomly selected by the government to recievce $6800 from the government in the form of a grant, the money can be used for anything - debt, etc....and no need to repay ever. The Government randomly selects a few dozen people each year for grants and he just happened to get my file. I was told to go to a western union within 15-20 minutes to complete the transaction process and I would have my money tonite!

Excited & Foolishly I went, eager for that quick debt fix. When I got there I called Steve back and was instructed to fill out the green form - the send money form. I was asked to send $100 to Sanjay Suri in Delhi, India as verification that I was recieving my money. I was asked not to talk to the people at western union because they would charge me an extra $700-$800 out of my money in fees or taxes. I was told all i had to lay out was the $8-10 fee from western union and the $100 would be credited back in only 15-20 minutes. I was begining to question all of this to good to be true situation by this point. I did actually fill out the form but thankfully the atm was not working. I was then transfered from Steve to a Richard Fox while leaving the store. Back at the car Richard asked me to go to "4 U Convienence" after I told him the teller wouldn't do a debit transaction.

I had someone with me in the car (THANKYOU Des) & after hearing them both over the speaker phone she suggested he was a salesman - pushing me to make the transaction tonite within the next 30 minutes actually and apparently didn't speak english so clearly. Both names seemed pretty uncharacteristic for the voices on the phone. It started to come together I was not getting any money... The phone number seemed ok after a quick check on the internet but further research on my part deems this a scam. Thankfully I didn't lay out any money money. I even told them I would overwithdraw to pay this $100 fee - THEY ARE HEARTLESS!!

The phone number did call my cell phone when I returned home(which i have not answered) - when i did not get to 4 U conveienence in the specified amount of time. There were phones ringing in the back round,& people talking when i was on the phone with them and I can't believe I left the house. I did not give them any information other than confirm my address - and my cell phone number. I did visit sites about grants but who knows how they got my info in the first place. When you live pay check to pay check and are supporting kids in NY you just don't need the added stress of this crap! How can we make it stop? How do they get punished for all the people that didn't stop to think and were scammed? Anything I can do to help - this isn't the first fraud/scam I've come across. This time I'ld like to follow through - I am very disconcerned with this whole situation. This is very Uncalled for.

Grants for Me has been billing my credit card every month. I have asked them to cancel it over 4 months ago every month. They continue to do so. I never received anything. This is not fair I have to call every month to my crdit card company and this company. How can this happen?

Las Vegas Funding Group is a DBA which was file July 2009. Las Vegas Funding Group has an automated robo call that goes out to businesses asking them to press one if interested in receiving free grant money...if you press one you are connected to one of their Sales Reps also known as "Grant Specialists" and "Small Business Analyst" per our investigation..the sales rep will give you a pitch...you know the pitch they tell you for how many foundations you are qualified for...then they tell you need to pay 2800 for paper work that is necessary for you to obtain the grant...they do not have certified grant writers licensed to write grants nor they have Attorneys. what they do have is a girl sitting behind a desk with a book called Grant Writing for Dummies.

DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM! You will never see a penny...of your promised grant. Las Vegas Funding Group' s license is issued to a corporation "Creative Medical Management" which manages medical offices and they also do billing...they have never writen a grant nor have the experience in writing grants.

The Sales rep will lie to you and tell you that they have been writing medical grants for 7 years...and they have expanded to small businesses that is why they got a New DBA...that is False! Do not be fooled! This company will not return phone calls once they get your money...ask them for a copy of the paper work...they will not provide it!!! They are too scared to show you a one page letter of intent...that they send out...that will not get you a grant! When they sell you on using them they tell you they have contacted the foundations and have reserved your money...that is also false!

They tell you you are guaranteed your grant by tax law...That is false!!! If this company has taken your money file complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. There are 15 complaints we need 5 more for the government to go in and grab all records! It is our understanding they are also mis-classifying employees...the Nevada Attorney General, IRS, and Labor Commissioner have been made aware of Las Vegas Funding Group...and are currently investigating! Grant writing companys are popping out every where in Las Vegas, NV. This company took my money and will take yours too! Know I am in debt .

These jackasses (which have to be related to the whole Granthelp scam) have charged my credit card 39.95 plus a foreign transaction fee of 1.19 and an Intelius fee of 1.95. I made no such charges, ever, at any time. You bet I complained to Bank of America. Some organization is storing credit card numbers and making bogus charges.

Offerred me a grant in the amount of $7,000 if I called this number. Had an Indian British accent. Claimed to be giving away $7,000 in US grant money to random citizens.

I have written numberous conplaints and made calls and get nother but that they will only refund 2 months. You can't find an address for them and they will not give it to you either. I do investigations so it's just a matter of time and I will have it and I am taking these people to court!

On Aug. 27, 2009, I found a website 'mysearch4grantandfunding' on my computer on another unrelated website of a 'Free GRANT MONEY SOFTWARE' CD by just paying for the shipping. I signed up for the free CD with the use of my credit card to pay for the shipping fee. When I finished clicking off the site, I got an email saying, 'Thank you for your membership' which I immediately went on their website to cancel the membership. But it turned out this was not the mysearch.

Luckily I canceled early enough to not get charged by this scam Membershipcare group, but I was not fortunate with Mysearch. scam group. I didn't find out that I was charged by the Mysearch until one day I was checking my credit card records and noticed some charges I was not aware of from the following group: DBW. I called the bank to find out who and what the charges were.

The following charges showed up on my statement that I DID NOT SIGN UP for: 8/30/09 DBW*EBOOK-BUY HOMES 866-3153967 UT - charged: $3.73; 9/01/09 DBW*EBOOK-WORKFRMHOME 866-3153967 UT - charged: $3.77; 9/4/09 DBW*THE GRANT EXPRESS 866-3153967 UT - charged: $69.95

On 9/30/09 at 3:29pm, I called 866- and spoke with ALEX M., to try to get refund since I didn't sign up for the membership on the $69.95, but refused, saying that I signed up for the membership and there is a no refund policy. I then called back to make sure that I was canceled from the Grant membership with confirmed# S#E on Sept. 30, ALLEN M.. On 10/2/09, at 11:32am, I checked my credit card account and found now that there is another charge of $69.95 was made on 9/29/09.

On 10/2/09 at 11:56am, I called 866-, and spoke with RAIN S. about why I was charged twice now for something that I didn't order. He just kept repeating that there is no refund, and that I did sign up and they have records to show it. Apparently they are using the sign up for the CD as also signing up for the Grant Search Membership program. I asked S. about my second charge in the same month, he apologized for the error (which I only found out when I checked my account) and gave me a refund confirmation# and said that I should notice a credit on my visa in about 10-15 days. I will be checking. But still no refund on the others!

I checked on Google on prior Mygrants scam and found several entries including the BBB website had them as well as others. On 10/2/09, at 11:32am, I contacted my credit card bank to try to dispute the charge and they said that they need copy evidence of membership cancellation otherwise try to settle with the Grant company. charged: $69.95

The credit card company won't dispute or credit the charges back unless I had proof of membership cancellation. This has caused me mental anguish, and loss of money that I didn't authorize. I hope this scam group will be shut down, arrested, and charged with this scam and at the same time ordered to pay a heavy fine and make restitution to the people they ripped off!

The letter states that I have been awarded a $40,000.00 grant and that the check is for state and fed processing fees. The letter also stated that as soon as the state and federal processing fees and commission fee $3,000.00 was paid to them, I would receive a check in the amount of $ 34,020.17. I never requested a Grant. This is a scam.

I received a call from a women that said I qualified for a government grant that will not have to be repaid and could be used for anything I desire. She wanted a credit card # that she would charge me $1.98 for shipping fees of a information booklet.

I was told to deposit the check into my bank account. (this part, sent up a red flag) Then I was to take $3,100.00 cash for taxes, to the local MONEY GRAM office. The tax money is to be sent to Rita Fleury - Atlanta Georgia 30315. afterward, Money Gram, would give me a conformation #, then I was to call the 1-514-585-2921 number and ask for James at Ext. 216 and give him the conformation #. Then according to James, the following day the grant would come by UPS. Please advise, I did apply for a grant, last year but never heard anything from that.

called stating that due to paying my taxes i was eligible for a government grant--then wanted my debit card# or bank account#--did not give it.

Was called by a William Smith,Who left a message on my phone stating that I had been selected to receive a Goverment grant for 25000 dollars. All I had to do is return his call as soon as possible. I returned the call only to get an answer machine for me to leave my information and he would return my call. Did not leave my info. I beleaved it to be a scam.

I received a call from Ashley stating that because I pay my taxes every year that I am entitled to $5000.00 back. They will charge a processing fee of $297.00 and deposit $4703.00 into my account. When I told her no I would not give out my account #, she stated that it was absolutely necessary. She then gave me the address & phone #.

When I called the number from my cell it showed that it was a texas #. I did not have to give my account # she already had it and other info. She then transferred me to a veriffication officer named Malcolm. Malcolm pplayed a recording where I had to state my name & address then he would speak over the recording so that I would not hear was being said. The recording then gave out a tel # and again he spoke over the recording stating that it did not apply to me. He then gave me conf code # and when I asked him for the tel # that was said on the recording he gave me the 806 # I told him that was not the #, he then gave me 1800-.

I called that # and it was a 1 800 talk #. They also stated that I would receive an application in the mail for me to sign & return. After I returned the letter they would deposit the money into my account.

Approximately 6 months ago I clicked on a web ad for a Federal Grants free trial. The ad said I would only have to cover shipping and handling for $2.99. I was told I could cancel the "subscription" at any time and it was unclear what the ongoing subscription cost or what it provided me in return. Regardless, I played it safe and called the number to cancel. The call went through and after several prompts, I spoke to a person who told me my enrollment was discontinued. As far as I was concerned, it was over.

Then, half a year later, I took a close look at my bank statements and saw a bunch of debits for $39.95 listed under Fed Grants with the phone number 877-. I called to cancel and they told me I could not get my money back because they had no record that I had ever called to cancel in the first place.

I gave the woman a really hard time and she started to negotiate with me - first one month's money back, then two, then three. I asked her; "What exactly does your organization do..? What are these charges related to as far as service?" She could not answer me. I then pushed to speak to her superior. Finally, after putting me on hold for a few minutes, she came back and said that they'd refund 5 out of the 6 months and cancel my account.

This is a very well run scam that provides some "information" here and there. Most of this info is public anyway but I looked back and I got some occasional emails. A lot of the content was just regurgitated news or listings from newspapers. I don't know why consumer protection agencies are having such a hard time shutting this down.

Lost $39.95 - the first month that was debited that fedgrantsusa would not refund to me. I had to fight to get back the other 5 months after my bank would not assist in the process.

Got a flyer for this in the mail. It looks like a front for the usual grant scams. I'm just hoping to raise awareness. This scam looks fairly new.

I was offered a federal government grant for $7,000 which was suppose to be deposited in my bank account after I Western Union $99 overseas in support the Cherokee charity. The caller identified himself as J. Williams, government grant supervisor

In January of 2009 I was contacted by Howard Stelman "American Public Grant Consulants" in regards to a online request I had done for imformation on grants for home owners to help fix up our home and get caught up on our mortgage payments, Mr Stelman said I would need to send in a total of $385.00 for there service what they call "The Program"

I explained to Mr Stelman that I did not have to full $385.00 he told me I could sent in $200.00 now and the balance of $185.00 he told me I could cancell at anytime before recieving "The Program" he faxed me a copy of there Money Back Guarantee and Disclosure after I sent in the whole amount of $385.00 I contacted Mr Stelman he then told me in about 2 weeks I would be recieving "The Program" by UPS it is now August 20th and I have never received anything I have written a letter requesting my $385.00 back I have called requesting my $385.00 back according to there Money Back Guarantee I can cancel at anytime before recieving "The Program" which I have never recieved and I have not recieved my $385.00 back I have even contacted the BBB in there state and filed a complaint with them the BBB has tried contacting them and I was told has received not communcation from them either.

One more thing when you call there phone number its seems to be a answering service or something like that they take your name and phone and your told someone will call you back I was told by Mr Stelman before all communcation stopped that I quailfied for $65,000.00 for home improvements and another $25,000.00 to help us get caught up on our mortgage payments which would of been a god send to us unforunately we were taken advantage of.

I received a call from this company stating that they would be able to get a grant for me.They ask what would be my purpose for wanting a grant. I told them that I wanted to have a daycare built. He told me that there are many companies that give generious this time of year (Christmas time) to companies for tax write off. He said that they have a ganrutee success in obtaining grants and if I didn't recieve the full amount w/n a year they would deposit $100,000 in my account. He also advised me that someone will be calling to verify information from me. I would need to send them $2,500 to have the research dept write the grant for me.

I am an Australian Citizen living in Australia. Recieved 2 emails stating I may be eligible for a US Gov. Grant.of between $25,000 & $50,000. After the first replied to say I was not and stated the facts. Recieved another the next day worded differently but the same message. Both emails included a link which took me to a very elaborate webpage.

All this happened around the end of June. Don't know how they had my email address to beggin with. There is a charge on my credit card statement for July under the heading fedgrantusa com of $10.28 AU including overseas TXN fee of 0.31c.

Did not purchase anything and DID NOT FORWARD any credit card details as I do not qualify in any case. Mostly an annoyance but am angry my credit card details have been appropriated [somehow] without my knowledge. Am very concerned about this. One charge only has appeared...so far...how can I stop further charges?

Had to send the money order twice, $89.00 their fee plus the $10 Western Union fee, for a total of $198.00 that I'm out. I am unemployed and I think this really sucks that people would do this. If I won, why can't they just send me a check? They say they are with the Department of Human Services!

Regards, Ricky Johnson, Govt Grant Foundation, Washington DC 20405

No consequences occurred, I KNEW this was a scam. But I don't think others might not pick up on it. I just wanted you to be aware of this e-mail.

I bought (I thought) a Grant Professional $1.99 cd. they carged my account 59.95, when I called they said they would refund the money, I still haven't recieved the refund, then I check my account again and find out that two other companies have my bank account number and are taking out an additional 12.95 and 19.95, and that it is in the terms and agreements.

Of course I never received any email, or disc, even if I called them, and asked three times. I finally cancelled my account; however they were asking many questions, and made it difficult to cancel.

My husband went on the website grantfundingsearch (aka mysearch4grantsandfunding) typed in name and address with his phone number, when it came to the credit card info, he backed out of it. The following day we were contacted by this company by a #2202 Nola Garcia. I had numerous questions about the program and decided to go ahead and do it. I gave her my information ( including my credit card #), she then gave me my confirmation # and told me that we would have an email with our user name and password with in 24 hours.

Well that time passed, so I called, and low and behold, they have no record of me or my husband. I spent a total of 18 hours trying to solve this problem between 2 days, with no results. I spoke with so many people and made sure I got all their employee #'s. was told many times that I could not speak to a supervisor. Placed on hold forever by everyone of them, and still got nowhere. They keep asking for my credit card # over and over again, and I refused to give it to them.

They all told me, they can not help if I do not give them my card #. I told them I had a transaction #, and to contact their billing dept with that # and find it from there. Still nothing. So I can not cancel my subscription with them due to they do not have my information, and I am waiting to see if my credit card will be charged again.

I was just contacted by a telemarketer (for lack of a better description) who claimed to be a representative of the federal government. He told me that I had been selected to receive a 25.000.00 grant. I became suspicious when he started asking for personal information and started asking allot of questions. He said his name is W. Smith (spoke with an indian accent) and that he was not with a private company but with a federal government office in Atlanta GA.

The information he wanted to get from me "to verify my eligibility" was my date of birth, last four of my SS # and my bank account number so the funds could be direct deposited. I told him that I was interested in the grant but would not give out the info he needed and if this was real he could send me a check. He told me that they did not send out checks because of people scamming the government.

This guy was fairly persuasive and if he contacts the wrong person could get someone into allot of trouble. Could you look into this please?

My husband and I in February 2008 decied to apply for a grant and exspand the business. USA Grants Inc. had called us a few times so I decied to give them a call. Everything went well we had to paid them $3,750.00 to so they could start the search for foundations who would be interested in funding us. They found ten organizations that they said was interested. Then they told us that we had been awarded One Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars, we knew that was to good to be true. Then they asked us to paid them $12,500.00 for all the legal paper work and filing that had to be done.

So we paid that and from that day on they have been telling us that they have companies that are waiting to fund us they send us an application twice from two different foudations we filled them out and send them back and we waited so long until I called one of the foundations just to see if they received our information and they never heard of us and had not received anything from USA Grants. But all that time USA Grant kept telling us that the foundations where going to funds us. They are still telling us that they have organizations that are interested in funding us.

I keep think that if this is a scam why are they still hanging around and talking with us. So I've come to realize that USA Grants employees are not good at there jobs and that because of the economy they are having a hard time finding companies that are willing to give up grant money to a profited business. I'm filling this complaint because I want other businesses to stand clear of USA Grants and I would like to see if anyone have any suggestions on how we can get our money back or get a grant out of these people. Thank you for taking an interest.

I requested a free grantnow CD for shipping and handling charges only. Then all of a sudden I was charged for other services which I did not agree to or order. And I have been charged monthly fees since march 2009. I contacted my credit card company and gave them all info that I did not request any additional services. But, I still have been getting billed each month. Please help me. I am a 72 year old, low income senior . How can I stop this?

Then they refuse to refund the money afterwards. This company is a complete and utter scam. Stay away at all costs! They are a very bad business, obviously fleecing people for money! They refused to refund my money!

ordered c d for 1.99 no strings. my card was also chrged 98.00 and 18.00 for some other service i did not authorize, way to get ur money back is simple, call ur cardholder bank and dispute these charges they cannot refuse and u will get all of ur money back. don"t expect to get ur money back any other way from these snakes. no other action on ur part required. the fraud department will take from there. threw my credit card to limit since they got me 2 times for these bogus charges

After responding to the confirmation email sent to me by Grant master online and Blazing keywords websites. I email then back to cancel the order. I was denied the cancellation my one of their rep. I explained to this site reprehensive that their aid was misleading and that once I received the email from their product providers, that is would cost me not only the original fee quoted in the amount of $1.97 to have access their products, it will cost me an additional $38.34 monthly to be a member; fees I am not willing to pay for and that these fees where not disclosed in the original advertisement.

I called to cancel right the charged my credit card the $1.97 cents and once I received the email, that I would be paying monthly fees after 7 day. I believe they will not cancel the account as per my request, or before they can make a profit from me. The original ad disclosure, was flawed, it did not state the monthly free on the original ad. One you paid the $1/97 for the kit, and they got you credit card number, they would then send you email to tell you about the monthly fee. I tried to cancel, however, I was unsuccessful getting this done.

I was told by a friend she heard on the radio about free grant money i knew it was probably a scam but ofcourse as we all do i went on line anyhow..They asked for my name address the normal stuff then they wanted my credit card well i dont have any thats something i dont need and then today 6-03-09 some guy calls me saying i have been approved for over a hundred thousand dollars in grant money. Would be nice beacuse i could use it to pay of debt if it were real.

Well i told him i dont have a credit card thats why i did not go through with it and he started being a jerk saying you dont have a credit card who does not have a card these days. Then goes on and says well does your family have one so i just hung up on him.

People like that need to quit screwing people over its hard enough living day to day without them taking money that they did not wotk for. i dont see them getting up at the crack of dawn to go work for min wage. It needs to be stoped. Im sorry for all of you out there.

I oredered the cd and was suppost to pay 2.95. now i have found out that they have takened out 99.95 out of my account in the last 2 mo. this has made my checks to bounce on my house

they are making withdraws from my account without permission two months in a row now for $58 each time. i want them to stop!

i canceled the very next day, i didnt recieve a cd i was supposed to or anything else. since i never use my credit card i didnt bither to check my statement until today and realized i've been getting charged $29.95 the past 5 months, for a product i canceled and never seen. plus i have 3 different numbers and one of them 800- asks me if i've been charged for 6 other different products which after looking at my statement i've been getting charged for identity theft and never ordered it this same company that advertises for grants slips in other products too.

$160 in more debt there is so many online sites to buy from i want be doing any online banking or transactions ever with any of them except amazon books. lost almost all trust

I thought I was spending $1.99 for information on Government Grants. After the authorized $1.99 charge I was billed for $94.89 every month until I caught it four months later. Their phone number claims their "system was down". $379.56 and my pride are both lost.

Advertise $1.99 for product (cancel anytime which I did right away) & took $94.86 three times from my bank account.

I had already contacted my bank and told them this was something I had not ordered or authorized. The payment was pending. I also closed my credit card. This is definitely a scam. I had another charge of $30.00 on my credit card the same day that was not authorized by me and I feel sure done by this same group. The charge said ClubNV. I canceled my credit card because I could see that these charges were just beginning and would only get worse. I want this scam to stop. These people should be prosecuted.

On February 18, 2009 I ordered a grant writing cd off the internet for $3.95 shipping and handling. Before I even received the cd, I got an email stating that I had to cancel my membership within so many days or my account would be charged so I went a head and cancelled on 2/25/09 . Well I was checking my bank account online and I see where I was charged $74.95 on 3-2-09 and another $29.95 on 3-4-09. I called my bank then and told them that those two charges where unauthorized and that I wanted to block this company from taking anymore money, the lady at the bank gave me the 800 numbers to contact this party that was taking the money

on 3-16-09 I called Ultimate Grant Secrets and they proceeded to tell me my money would be refunded in 48 hours, which it wasn't so I called again and the next person told me that it was 48 business hours, so I waited six days and still no money, so I called back and got another excuse how the computers where down and that they would be sending me a check it would take 10-12 days, I waited and still no money, I called them back on 3-27-09 and they told me that they were getting ready to refund the money on 4-2-09 they refunded the $29.95 but not the $74.95

I called back 4-6-09 and the person told me to give it a few more days because it was taking longer then they expected. I waited until 4-17-09 and called them back, so the gentlemen I talked to said he was going to resend the cancellation, low and behold it would be another 10-12 days well I still don't have the money and when I called last week the man said he would send an email to the company and now it's a week later and nothing.

I called this afternoon and the lady informed me that they don't have to refund my money, but she would send another email. I told her I wanted to talk to someone in management and she said that I couldn't that they are a third party company that takes complaints. I told her that I was going to call everyday until I got my money. Every time you call this 866- you speak to yet another non speaking American, that you can hardly understand. This is a scam and they are ripping more people off everyday. Something has got to be done about this. I did not agree to any of these charges.

This account was closed on 2/23/2009. on 04/22/2009 My debit card was charged again this charge also created an overdraft on my account of 34.00. on top on the 74.95 I have call the 800 number 3 time and no refund at this time

they,took out 99.90 out of my checking account they wasnt giving permission to. they were only was giving access to get only 1.95, i called n question why. they denied it. i have prof fome my bank statement they are a rip off co. n should be checked out. im probly not the only one they did it to. they shouldnt even advertise on the internet. i came accross them when i was looking for work, i received the cd. but they had no permission to access over 1.95. i told them they better refund back 99.90. as of tomorrow im making sure they will be block, u should investagate them, thank you

I filled in a survey and checked that I would be interested in a business grant. I was called and told that for $1.00 from my credit card I would be given access to free information for 14 days after which I would be charged a monthly fee if I didn't cancel.

I'm sure this is one of the SCAMS and I'm glad there is someone to report this too. I lost $49.95 unless there is some way to get my money back. I used a debit card so now I will have to get a new number to keep them from stealing that amount monthly.

I subscribed to Grantsmoney.com for an "easy way" to get free money from the government (I've worked since I was 14...i thought why not get back some taxes I've paid in if I can?) I did and I got more then I bargained for!! I ended up incurring $91.00, $38.00 and other charges in relation to this company (still waiting on a statement from my credit card company to verify charges) and when I got the number to call and "cancel" my so called "subscription" (which I DID NOT sign up for, agree to or anything else) I was put on hold (the whole time i was saying aloud "Hurry up lady" and, ironically, she re-appeared on-line to say "Sorry m'am, Im just waiting for your file to appear...oh here it is") for 2 minutes then she told me that there was only a charge of $1.95 posted to my account from them and nothing more...

Im not really sure who's to blame here; me for giving out my card number when I should know better or them for not keeping the number safe. Regardless, i cancelled the card (got a new one the same day) and now that horror is over. I am disappointed that my credit card company didn't have coverage for me with a clause protecting me from fruadulent charges. Guess I learned an expensive lesson.

I applied online for a grant that would help me and my family with purchasing our first home. Received a phone call from Steven telling me that I had been approved for a housing grant for $100,000. Since I had been approved for the grant, I asked if there was any grant money available to help the pastor of my church.

Pastor Frank is currently remodelling a building that will be used for a recreational center for kids. Steven told me that pastor James had been approved and since I pulled him into the program, the next time I apply for a grant that i would not have to pay the $385 fee.

My husband and I were told that we would have to pay a fee of $385. That fee was to be made out to the grant writer, Kathya Aprico. The money was went to her by a cashier's check. The first cashier's check was made out to the wrong person and they quickly sen the check back by fed-ex. I corrected the name on the check and sent it back to them. This was done on March 16, 2009.

I was told by Steven that he would call me in a few days and let me know about when to expect the grant proposal (14 page document)and where I would need to sign. The disclosure said that once uspg received the funds, the grant proposal would then be sent to me. I was told to get written estimates on how the money would be spent and send it to them. I did what they asked.

Everytime I call, Steven is unavailable and has not returned any of my calls. I have sent an e-mail but no response from them. They told me it would take about 8 weeks from start to finish. It's been well over 8 weeks. I feel bad for Pastor James because I pulled him into this. I was only trying to help him get extra funds to finish the recreational center but instead I think I made it worse. How can anyone scam a church?

We were charged additional fees from this company without approval. I have had to cancel my credit card and notify all credit report companies of fraud transaction.

Unauthorized withdrawal of funds from my bank account. Lost $74.95

After several calls and many excuses of computer problems, the need for conference calls with my bank and them, more computer problems, the promise of a check, a typo of my address so they would have to resend the check, calling during regular business hours and getting a recording the office is closed, more phone calls; It's is April 21, 2009 and I still have not received my money back. I am going to wait ten business days and then I am going to notify the Attorney General.

It doesn't matter that I am a 58 year old woman on disability and the $150 is a months groceries for me, Grant My Offer made unauthorized withdrawels from my account. I will not stop pursuing this matter.

Ordered the Ulimate Grant Secrets for 1.99 and have been $74.95 for two months and did not authorize this charge and when try to call the number to cancel the number does not work. No way to stop the billing. This is a scam!!!! I have lost $149.90 for no services.

I asked for the 1.98 cd and told them I didn't want any money taken out of my account but the took 69.95 weven though I canceled and also are tacking 29.95 of witch I didnt know about till I checked my statement from the bank. I have called and e-mailed them to stop taking my money but they still are and will not refund any of it. I work seven days a week and still dont have enough to pa my bills I don' need them taking what little money I have please make them stop.

I have had to pay overdraft charges and my savings for that is gone now so if the take any more it will cost me 35 each time.

They offer a free CD all I had to pay was the shipping $1.95 so I pay with my credit card. They did not contact me after that at all. No confirmation e-mail or nothing. Next, I received the statement from my credit card with two charges from them one was 11/03 for $99.00 and the other charge was 11/17 for $49.95. They did not mention that I had to pay those amounts of money at all. so I call them 11/25 to complain and they told me that they were going to send the money back to my credit card and they never did so I call them back 4/13 and they said it was too late to complain.

I can believe that kind of business they doing, lying to people that way. I just want to report that company and see if I can get my money back. All I got from them was a CD that I offer to send back unopened and they said that I can keep it. I appreciate your help in solving this matter. Thank you. I got a charge to my credit card for $150.00 which I did not authorized All I did was to pay $1.95 for the shipping of the free CD they announce.

ordered a $2.95 grant cd from listed on the publisher clearing house website. The cd was ordered from a website mygrantsite. Never received any product from them and then they withdrew two payments of $39.95 from my account. They clam in small print on another page that I agreed with this. This is a major scam. I hope you can stop this abuse, I was looking for was to come up with money for my daughter eduacation, instead I loose money to an online scam artist.

Lost money and lots of time trying to resolve this matter.

I ordered a CD for $1.97 from Google Riches - which appears to be out of Scottsdale, AZ according to my bank records. Then they added $1.00 to that which is Government Funded Grants with no address and then a Cross Border Fee - GovtFundedGrants - no address. Since that time they're hitting my bank account regularly -- to date $108.79 from the 3 sources named above thru April 10, 2009. I did receive a pithy CD which amounted to info anyone can get on the internet.

I've definitely been scammed and advise potential buyers to beware. My bank thinks these folks are out of Canada no matter what they show on the records. That means all is lost and they'll probably not be stopped nor prosecuted. One cannot contact them through their various telephone numbers (which I got from my bank) -- either the phone isn't answered or IT IS and they keep you hanging on and no one every talks to you -- so cancelling th is way is impossible. These folks have a gold mine going at the expense of the average citizen. BEWARE, BEWARE, BEWARE

I am 71 years old and on a fixed income. I have incurred over $100 in bank charges plus the money these people stole from me.

What can I say, but I have have fallen victim by the same experience as hundreds of others regarding the egregious, cruel thievery of this dispicable company. I called 3 times, and it was like talking to a recording, albiet, in broken english each time...terms and conditions you agreed to. Same scenario as those before me: I paid for shipping, and then had $69.95 stolen from my bank account. I received a CD, with not a shred of instructions or packing slip, and never recieved even a confirming email. I'm on my way to my bank, but am afraid of no help there. One person suggested calling the Henderson NV Police. I must now cancel my card, and get a new one, because this company has my info!

The economic damage is the $69.95, as well as my time and frustration, and complete stress in dealing not only with the company, but now with my bank.

This company's website advertising is for a cd in the amount of $1.98. Then within 7 days they charge your credit card for $69.95 and will not refund this money they have taken from you. I have already looked at all the complaints for this company that have done to so many other people excatly what they had done to me. I had called when I saw a charge of $69.95 ready to be posted to my account and was told that it would be refunded.

Upon after 7 days of no refund, I called again and was told no refund would be given. These charges on my accouont was not authorized by me for This company to deduct any charges other than $1.98, but they did. Something should be done with this company steeling peoples money!

I have hadd to cover thses charges in my bank account for something I did not register for, authorize, or receive anything for this money that was taken out of my account.

I am going through the same thing with these Gov. Grant scammers! I want to tell all of you, DO NOT GIVE UP! DISPUTE ALL THE CHARGES WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANIES AND YOUR BANK. DO NOT ACCEPT NO FOR AN ANSWER. It worked for me. Make sure you cancel your account and get a cancellation number. Change your credit card number if you have to. DO NOT LET THEM GET AWAY WITH YOUR MONEY. By the way, WHY IS THE GOVERNMENT LETTING THEM GET AWAY WITH THIS? OBAMA, WHATS UP? This is where the people need help. I dont care about banks or auto makers. I care about us not getting our money legally stolen.

This company advertises that they will help you get a grant. My son who recently started college needed help and with him being my only child, I had no experience as such. I went to the website. I had ordered a CD, and immediately canceled the order as the guidance counselor had called me that she could help me. I receieved an email stating that the membership was canceled. I still never received the CD, but they did take the money out for it. So far, I have had 2 debits taken out of my account - unauthorized - 3/28/2009 Network Share POS Debit GRANT/NEWSPN -29.95 3/2/2009 Network Share POS Debit MYFITNESS -29.95 2/13/2009 Network Share POS Debit HLD*GRANTHELPORDER -3.95 Both of these are from the same place.

I have tried calling and calling, and can never get a human, only a message that it is after business hours, regardless of when you call, or that the lines are busy and to try back at another time. The only way to stop these 29.95 coming out of my account is to close my account and open another one. I am sure you know when you have automatic debits coming out - how much of a pain it is to start all over. The money they are stealing is the money we have saved for my sons school. This may not be a lot of money, but to a single parent with a child in college, it is a fortune.

I googled this company, and I see now that this is a scam company. More parents need to be aware of this. As an FYI - When I attempted to go on their site today: 1. There is no email contact; 2. The toll free number is bogus and reverts to toll free information; 3. I discover that their business is located on some island called Nevis in the Caribbean.

They owe the money back to me for one. Second it is a horrible feeling of being scammed, not to mention, now having to go close my bank account and start all over again. Lesson well learned, but a costly one at my sons expense.

I ordered $1 brochure for a friend at this site. I didn't notice a $29.95 monthly charge after the 7 day free trial, advertised in big letters on the site. When I was billed in Oct.(I think) I called and cancellled. In Jan of 2009 monthly charges, jan,feb, and march, showed up under the vender of GOVTFUNDEDGRANTS showed up. We were away and I didn't notice.

I called Wachovia when it showed up in pending payments and they couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me the source until it posted. I called the company on 3/30 and cancelled the acct. This time I got a numbner, 609. When I went onto their site it seemed to me the whole operation is a total scam, because there is a legitimate site, governmentfundedgrants.com which they somehow attach themselves to. Nowhere does their email address show up. I pity the poor, desperate people who actually sent them money for their kits. Like our friend, they're unemployed, disabled, and desperate. Please help them.

On 3/4/09 I ordered a Grant Funding Research software for $1.98 and that amount was deducted from my account. On 3/16/09 I noticed that a pending deduction from my account in the amount of $69.95 from Grant Funding Research,for a monthly subscription, I called them and told them that I did not subscrbe to any subscription and I told them I was going to report them to the Attorney General if they did not return my money, which they did on 3/17/09.

On 3/26/09 I noticed a debit from my account for $29.95 from IWBCLUB, from Nevada. I do not no them or what they do. I called them and a lady who would not give me her name told me that they were a cash flo company. I told her that I had have never ordered anything from them and that I wanted my money back. I told her that I was going to report them to the Attorney General and then she told me my subscription would be cancelled and I would get my money back in three to five business days. How can these people be allowed to steal like this?

The actions of these people caused two overdrafts in my account.

I, too, became victim to Grant University. Ordered free CD plus $1.98 S&H and then charged $69.95 as well. Disputed, but they rebilled my account but would post no more charges. Figured hard lesson learned and paid it. Since, due to my negligence in not looking over the statement, IWB has consistently billed me $29.95 monthly since that encounter with Grant University. I don't know who IWB is. I never subscribed to this. I have called the numbers to no avail. This needs stopped. After seeing all the complaints with the same thing happening, why is this company still scamming? I am just speechless.

I applied for 2 grant companies, Govtfundedgrants and center4grants. The next month I had about $120.00 of charges on my credit card; for which I did NOT ask for or sign anything. THey DID give me a phone no. and when contacted, they agreed to cancel and refund the charges. One Co. would NOT refund the current chg but said they would cancel the service. SO, I am red-faced and my hopes are dashed! I hope this helps you let people know they are not up front with us.

for a one time fee of $49.50 i was to recieve a package of information to recieve a gov. grant for a small bus. i recieve a call from them and was asked for more info , at this time i said i don't want to do this.i have since had thee deductions of $49.50 the last one on 3-1-09 from credit card i called the phone no. and was told to email.

these guys are smart and it as obvious they are accustom to these sort of calls . i can not deal with them and can not afford to lose $148.50 and looks like they will keep deducting every month what can be done?

On 2-20-09 I orderer an application to recieve the blank form so that I could apply for my own grant.Little that I know the $3.95 cost $74.95 on 3-3-09. I missed the money from my before I got the disk, it caused an overdraft.I did contact my credit-union about reversing the charges and they told me to send them an e-mail because probably have me paying the $74.95 every month. I did not willingly have an overdraft nor did I give them permision to take my money from my account.

When I tried to contact Grant Writing Express (grant help services) aftet 3days a recording came on with a menue to select from,before I could select it wood say Im sorry I do not that capability please hold,and was given a three minute waiting period.I never was able to talk to anyone.I hope and pray they take any more money from my account.Im going back to my credit union to see what other action if there are any.

We recently got a new school,a college and I wanted to go and maybe take a couple of courses,and what was left make some home and car repairs.I was really hoping this was going to be a blessing,but turned out be painful and embarasing,is there any good people out there anymore.

On March 16, 2009, I received a text message on my cell phone to sign up on a Grant Search? website for the cost of only $2?. I proceeded to get on the Internet, and examined the website. As it turns out, they just had a link to the governments website to apply for grants which is free, and only gives grants to universities and organizations, NOT individuals. The government DOES NOT just hand out money. Boy did I feel stupid. But, I thought, I was only ripped off $2.

Then, on March 21, 2009, I noticed a charge of $70.17 suddenly appear on my account from the same website. This was totally unexpected and not authorized by me in any way. I found out later (see below) that I was snared in a trap that this company had cleverly set up. I called my banks customer service, and was told to wait till the charge went from pending to completed, so I waited. I had the card cancelled and a new one re-issued. Meanwhile, I tried to go to the website to get contact information such as a phone number for them and demand that this unauthorized transaction be canceled, but found no phone numbers, no email addresses, no names, nothing. All I found was a submit form that was not functioning. I attempted to use this submit form several times to ask them to cancel and remove this unauthorized charge, but could not. Clicking submit resulted in nothing happening; the screen just stayed there and did nothing.

On March 26, 2009, when the transaction completed on my banks website, I called the fraud department, and opened up a case number. I was given a phone number to this Professional Grant company. On March 26, 2009 I called this company, and asked that this unauthorized charge be removed and reversed, and that I be given a refund because this charge was not authorized; but the company representative told me there are no refunds given, and I supposedly had agreed to these terms. I explained that I had in no way shape or form agree to this charge of $70.17, but the representative said that there was supposedly some terms of agreement sometime during the transaction that I had failed to read. That is a lie.

I informed them that I had submitted a fraud complaint to my bank, and I repeatedly demanded that they cancel this unauthorized charge and give me a refund, but the representative continued refusing to grant me a refund and eventually hung up on me. My suspicion is that this agreement (if it exists at all) is on a separate web page that one never encounters. I am also sure that if this supposed agreement does exist, they probably word it just tricky enough that you dont know you are agreeing to another charge, but good enough for them to try and claim it was a legitimate transaction. It was not. This transaction was highly deceitful and unethical, and should be illegal. My suspicion is that they use this to trick people into thinking that they are agreeing to a one-time charge of $2.01, but what they are actually agreeing to is this hidden charge of $70.17 some days later; in the hope that some of the victims dont try to or cant stop or recover the charges.

I found I am one of thousands of people who have gotten caught up in this highly unethical and deceitful scam. This company changes names, and is currently based in Comoros, but I am sure it is just a PO BOX that they shift around to avoid detection and prosecution. I hope that this money that was stolen from me in a highly deceitful manner can be recovered, and this highly unethical company be denied these funds. My hope is that they also be reported to the FTC, the Justice Department, and other authorities; but they are probably sneaky enough to operate outside the arm of the FTC and our Justice Department.

On March 11, 2009 I paid $1.99 for a look at government grants from a sidebar on YAHOO. Apparently (still not sure)in the terms and conditions fine print, there was a charge I did not see. I was charged $69.90 on March 21, for some access feature. I was scammed just like the other people on this site. The company is: Pacific WebWorks, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT 84101. In my mind, (and especially during this reccession), these people have broken the law.

These people fraudulently stole our credit card off of the internet and made charges to it with out our permission. Then they repeatedly keep calling our house to confirm our order that we never ordered. We told them that our credit card number was stolen and we never ordered anything and the card was canceled and to please take us off of the list and they still call us twice a day to confirm our order. Even after we have reported them to the FCC and the FTC and even after we had stated we had reported them to the FCC and FTC for fraud. They call at least twice a day every day and they will not leave an answer on our answering machine.

We are both college students the phone rings and it disturbs our study time while we are doing homework. I also suffer from headaches and migraines and the ringing phone hurts my ears. I also have a young child and it wakes her up when she is sleeping. Its just out right harassment. These people need to quit.

I got an email from governmentgrants forme.com and it said I was prequalified for grant money to help pay my mortgae. I had 2 choices to pay $3.95 for shipping 7 handling or pay $1.95 for instant access. I paid the $1.95 by debit card for instant access & decided it was useless information. A few days later i got a call from a man who said that they had my package ready to mail to me. I said I wasn't interested. He argued with me and I just hung up. A few days later $68.13 was taken from my checking account!I went to their website to contact them, but there is no contact number or address on the site for them.

They took unauthorized funds from my account which overdrew my bank account which cost me overdraft fees and my bank told me that since i used my debit card, they could keep taking money from my account unless I closed the account, which I did the same day.

I, like so many others, requested information about government grants and in order to get this information they needed my credit card number for shipping and handling of $2.78. As a result, my number was farmed out to ID Theft, Legal Net and Grant Connect, charging me with additional charges on my credit card each month. By the time I got my statement and realized what was going on and called them, they had charged me with another month.

My account was charged for $78.58 and additional charges have been added for March. I didn't realize what was going on until I got my Feb. credit card statement. I 71 years old, still am able to work and lost my job in November, and was hoping to find some assistance. Just got more grief.