Con artists know... nothing gets your attention more... Than mailing you a big, fat check... that looks completely legit.
A Colorado Springs man received this one in the mail... but called me before cashing it.
The Bank One check is written on a Comcast account... but Comcast tells me... it's a fake.
I called the number listed in the letter and talked to a man who identified himself as Eddie Jones.
Jones had a clever story. He said our viewer had won a second place prize of $55,000... because he had recently purchased something over the internet and the merchant had entered his name into the lottery.
But his next words sent up the red flag.
Jones says the 55-grand wouldn't be mailed until this $1,850 check had been deposited...And $1,500 was wired to Canada to cover taxes and fees.
Katie Carroll with the Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado says... "In our country it's usually the IRS that collects taxes so if you win something, you don't have to give any money. The IRS will contact you."
Just remember... a contest in the U.S. would never ask you to wire money out of the country. It just doesn't make sense.
These days most scams originate out of Canada or Mexico... so sending money there just guarantees you'll never get it back... nor find out who's on the receiving end.
So no matter how real the check looks... toss it... or forward it to us... and we'll check it out for you.