My wife got a letter today from the Publisher's Clearing House's 100 Million Dollars Super Cash Giveaway Promotion", saying she won second prize. They enclosed a check for $6,470.20, to "cover insurance and attorney fees." She's supposed to call a telephone number and speak to Mr. Miller BEFORE she deposits the check.
There are several red flags here:
1. The letter is postmarked from Austin Texas.
2. The check is from an industrial supply out of Needham, MA. A real company -- I looked them up.
3. Mr. Miller's telephone number traces back to an address in Ontario Canada.
The way this scam works is when she calls Mr. Miller, he asks for money -- say $2.5K -- less than half of the check, and he will do something to get the rest of the "second prize money" back to her. The check will clear and she could pull from the deposit. It may take several days for the check to actually bounce. When it does, you have to give back all money you pulled from that check and you are OUT of the money you sent Mr. Miller.
You can read about the scam here, if you are interested:
http://info.pch.com/consumer-information/fraud-protection
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."
There are several red flags here:
1. The letter is postmarked from Austin Texas.
2. The check is from an industrial supply out of Needham, MA. A real company -- I looked them up.
3. Mr. Miller's telephone number traces back to an address in Ontario Canada.
The way this scam works is when she calls Mr. Miller, he asks for money -- say $2.5K -- less than half of the check, and he will do something to get the rest of the "second prize money" back to her. The check will clear and she could pull from the deposit. It may take several days for the check to actually bounce. When it does, you have to give back all money you pulled from that check and you are OUT of the money you sent Mr. Miller.
You can read about the scam here, if you are interested:
http://info.pch.com/consumer-information/fraud-protection
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."