Do I have to pay tax on a grant?
So I was being scammed. The set-up started on Facebook. I accepted a friend request from a profile who's name and picture I associated with a cousin that I haven't talked to in a long time. He asked me how I was doing. I said fine, newly retired. He asked if I had received my government help support yet.
I have since found out today that the Facebook account (that I thought belonged to a relative of a cousin through which initial contact was made) had been hijacked. It had belonged to my cousin's father in law, whose husband shares the same name.
I said no, and he gave me an e-mail address to contact. This contact sent me a questionairre, shipping info for my check and request for $1000. Both my Facebook "friend" and this contact have repeatedly asked if I've sent the money yet. I believe they are the same person. Of course, I haven't.
But he/they strung me all the way to the edge.
Is this a scam?