Family Scams in Three Parts: Part 2

OK. On to my mother's next scam, which is actually pulling a reverse scam. If you've ever watched wrestling (and good lord why would you and why would I confess that I have), there's a point where the good guy gets locked up in some choke hold or something and looks like he's about to pass out, etc. and then OH, look! He reverses the hold and has the bad guy on the ropes. Well, that's kind of what my mother wants to do here.

She got a letter from an International Clearing Commission House saying she'd won 3rd place in a sweepstakes and was entitled to $50,000. But first, she had to pay the costs to claim the prize, and so they had enclosed a check for her to cash and then write to them to pay the costs. Ri-ight.

One of those check-bounces-and-you're-left-holding-the-bag scams the post office went through recently. I googled it and came up with SCAM in about 5 seconds.

So she's decided that she wants to sue the Int'l CC House--not because they were trying to defraud her and should go to jail...

...but because they promised her $50,000. So show her the damn money already!

Mom, I told her, you don't get damages for prizes that you don't receive.
But they promised it to me, she says.
But it was FREE, Mom. You don't get reimbursed for "free".
But they promised it to me and I think they ought to pay it.
But you didn't suffer any damages. You never cashed the check and you aren't out anything.
Well, they promised it and I think they ought to pay up. That'll teach 'em to try to scam people.

Yeah, Mom. That'll teach 'em. She's contacting her lawyer later this week. Not to put them in jail, though, mind you.

She's suing for $50,000.

--Virgil