I received an email this morning from DESIRAE PELACCIA, PROMOTION & SPONSORSHIP, Postmedia.

“Hi Karen. My name is Desirae and I’m reaching out from Postmedia. I’m contacting you regarding the Marquee TV contest on canada.com . Kindly get back to me (by email for now as I am working out of the office) when you get this message. I will need to hear back from you by end of day Tuesday, September 22. Thanks and stay safe!”

Woo, exciting. But I looked up the contest and it is only a one year channel subscription, worth $45 per their site .

I replied that she had reached me.

She replied, “Fantastic, thanks for the quick reply! May I give you a quick call? Won’t take much time.”

I replied that I prefer to do business by email.

She replied, “Unfortunately, I do have to verify details with you and there is a skill testing mathematical question that I am required to ask.”

I replied again that I prefer email, which I do.

She replied, “Your name has been selected from the contest entries and you may potentially be a winner. We do need to verify that you are who you say you are , that you submitted the entry, and administer the skill testing question. Due to COVID-19, the only way to do this is by telephone. If you feel more comfortable calling me instead, you can call me on my mobile at 647-xxxx-xxxx, but I will need to hear from you by 5pm ET or we will need to move on. Thanks.”

I replied that we can do that just fine by email.

She replied, “I have spoken with our legal team. If you prefer to handle this by email, we would need you to provide us with the following information in accordance with the contest rules:
(i) the attached release form completed and signed by both yourself and a witness
(ii) a copy of your driver’s license (both sides scanned)
I would need this back no later than Wednesday, September 23 at 12:30 pm ET or we will have to select someone else. Thank you for your time.”

The documents claim the prize is worth $110, which it isn’t. I replied that I have never driven, and even if I had, I wouldn’t be giving out my drivers licence for such a minor prize.

My email address is [email protected]. That’s the email I entered with, that’s the email we were conversing with. Unfortunately, Police Detective PELACCIA has her doubts!

They can keep their prize.