The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is mailing checks to the victims of a vacation travel scam operated by VGC Corp of America which did business under a number of names including All Dreams Vacations and All Dreams Travel.  After a complaint was filed by the FTC against VGC, it settled the claims.  Included in the settlement is a refund to victimized consumers.
The scam started with a telephone call offering a vacation package worth thousands of dollars if the person receiving the call was able to answer a simple trivia question.  Once the victim had won the “free” trip, he or she was told he or she had to pay $400 in taxes or fees.  Although the victims made these payments, they never received the promised vacation package.
TIPS
There are many similar type of vacation scams, but if you think that you may have been a victim of this particular scam which was being done in 2011 (it takes a long time for these cases to be completed) you can go to the top of this page to the tab marked “FTC Scam Refunds” for more information about obtaining a refund of the money you lost.
For everyone else this is a cautionary tale that reminds us that you never have to pay fees or taxes to claim a prize you have won in a legitimate lottery or contest.  Taxes are either deducted from the prize or you are responsible for them on your own.  The contest or lottery sponsor never collects taxes and you should never have to pay a fee in order to collect your prize from a legitimate lottery or contest.