A few weeks ago, Brian Oxman from Publishers Clearinghouse called to tell me that I had won a $2.5 million third-place prize. Would I be at my Colorado Springs residence to receive my check? Hmmm ... I haven't lived in Colorado Springs for more than 10 years. I suppose the caller ID on my cell phone that said Kingston, Surrey County, Jamaica was also a tip-off.
When I told Brian that, gee, that was great but I live in the Denver area now, he asked me how far that is, and could I be take time off work to accept my winnings. I have to admit that scenes of cheering people, balloons, cameras and that giant check made out in my name were flashing through my mind. My heart was pounding despite these disconnects, as well as my nagging surety that I have never entered a Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes.
But (thump, thump, thump) what if? What ? What if I could pay off credit cards? What if I could repay the many kindnesses of my friends and family? What if I would never again have to worry about health insurance, housing or car maintenance?
I tried hard to make it real.
What if, beyond my basic needs, I could go back to school for my Ph.D.? What if I could locate the Mazda Miata I sold in 2009, the one with the fabric top that retracted and closed manually, with headlights that flipped open like eyelashes? What if I could fund causes I believe in, such as Writing for Peace, Canine Partners of the Rockies and Lighthouse Writers Workshop?
Of course, I'd need to stash a good chunk away in my retirement fund, which was seriously depleted during some periods of unemployment over the past six years. Plus, keep in mind, this paltry $2.5 million sum was because I had only won a third-place prize.
All I had to do to get my winnings was to go to Safeway and purchase a $199 "IRS registration receipt" to hand over when they delivered my check. Brian would stay on the line with me while I did this.
"You can understand why I am skeptical," I told him. By this time, I had put the call on speaker and my officemates were listening in. "I'm sure you get this reaction from all your winners."
"No." He sounded frustrated. "No, all my winners are grateful for what the Good Lord gave them. Why can't you just accept that the Lord has taken care of you?"
After keeping him on the phone for 18 minutes, I told him I had to go back to work. I went on the internet for PCH scams and, sure enough, I had been a target. I called the PCH fraud hotline with the details after the conversation, and they reported it to the FTC.
Yes, I knew it was a scam from the first glace at the caller ID. I knew it was a scam when he offered to escort me to Safeway to purchase my registration receipt. I knew it was a scam because the Lord takes care of me in other ways.
And yet, and yet ... what if?
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/I-so-wanted-the-fake-to-be-real,219465?branding=15
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