I received the same letter from a "CLARK HILL PLC" When I looked them up, they are in fact a actual Lawyers office with offices all over the United States. I have received bogus checks before, so I immediately reported these guys to the US Treasury Office. Hopefully our tax money will go to work now and catch these jerks! People beware!

Got the same letter.... Knew it was a scam. Too good to be true.

I just received a letter from "Heritage Financial Group", with a check for $3875. Figured it was a scam but was curious to see what explanation I would get on the phone....phone number doesn't even work anymore lol. (416-560-4979). I hope no one continues to fall for this and they can be stopped!

They even use the same exact numbers for all the letters.  Isn't there somewhere we should report this mail fraud??

I got the same letter and check and thought I better check it out online.  It did seem too good to be true!  Thanks for the info.  Letter and check are headed for the shredder.

I received my letter yesterday, the same one, it look so very, very real especially since it was drawn on JPMorgan Chase Bank.
What a beautiful fake and now using United Healthcare heading on the check same Inter-American Promotions Inc same claims agent Mr. Manu West and promotion director, Dana Bob.  My husband just told me how he just watch a program on scams and how this particular one works.  Just out of curiosity I call that number 1-416-824-2352 and a suppose Mr. West told me to deposit the check into my account and call him back when I have done this, just like all above.  I am so glad I google this and got the same message like above.  Thanks so much for this site, now I can get back to my dreams.

Incorrect.

Please read the information I posted.
One does not have to SPEND the check ... all one has to do is deposit it, then withdraw ANY money from that account, before the check is completely vetted!  You seem to be proposing that people deposit the check, then not use that account.

"by depositing the check and withdrawing money, the consumer is taking responsibility for the funds that have been spent or sent before the check is found to be worthless."

Apparently smarter then you!

Curtesy of:
http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/checkcashingscams.php
http://www.bankingquestions.com/checksyourece ... audulentck.html

If you receive an email or letter in the post / regular mail saying you won a lottery and they send you a check? Or you sold something on Ebay and the buyer paid with a check? Or  you took out a loan from a distant or online bank and they sent you a check? You can just take the check to your bank and cash it right?

WRONG!  And what is worse, if you cash it, in most states in the US, you may be guilty of passing a counterfeit check, money laundering or worse. Clark Howard did a piece on his radio show about a man in California who was arrested for cashing a bogus check. In other words, by merely attempting to cash the check, you could go to federal prison!

Anyone who gets those bogus checks should take a copy of them to the local post office and request the postal inspector to look into it. This is mail fraud, pure and simple.   Absolutely never try to deposit them.

Curtesy of:
http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/checkcashingscams.php
http://www.bankingquestions.com/checksyourece ... audulentck.html

If you receive an email or letter in the post / regular mail saying you won a lottery and they send you a check? Or you sold something on Ebay and the buyer paid with a check? Or  you took out a loan from a distant or online bank and they sent you a check? You can just take the check to your bank and cash it right?

WRONG!  And what is worse, if you cash it, in most states in the US, you may be guilty of passing a counterfeit check, money laundering or worse. Clark Howard did a piece on his radio show about a man in California who was arrested for cashing a bogus check. In other words, by merely attempting to cash the check, you could go to federal prison!


Its ILLEGAL to ask for money to receive it.
Prize Offers: You Don?t Have to Pay to Play!

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel17.shtm
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0076-telemarketing-scams

A check for a large amount just shows up out of the blue & from a stranger.  Whatever could go wrong???

Seems to be a bit above Steve's understanding level.

Please explain.

No, what you did was deposit a fake check.  And may be held accountable for it, i.e, fraud.

Sorry you are an idiot sir. When you deposit someone's check they get NONE of your bank information. Otherwise identity fraud would be insane.

Sorry. But NOT TRUE. The writer of the check gets no helpful information hon.

Someone sends you a check. Take it to the bank & have them examine it. Usually the bank name, address is good, but the transit number on the bottom is bad. Part 2 of this scam comes later. When you deposit that check ALL your banking details (bank name, address, account number) go to the person who sent you that check. Now. . . what do you think the scammer will do with that information?

"IF" you spend it. Deposit it and see what happens. No harm. All you did was deposit winnings.

Read this ... carefully!
http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnwin0607/scams.html

Short version:
"In these cases, the depositor most likely will be held responsible for the entire amount of the fraudulent check. "

Because it's a fake check.  It will bounce - whether in a few days or a few weeks - and the poster will be liable for any fees and also for the check amount (if poster used that money).  Not only that - many banks will charge you with fraud for "passing a fraudulent instrument" (fake check).

I deposited it too. Figured I'd call AFTER it cleared to make sure it was legit. How was I supposed to know??

Why would he get charged fees for depositing a check that you say will bounce?

How did it turn out for you?

Scam letter reporting I won the inter American  Lotto Power Ball . Came with a Check for $3880 that I couldnt cash until I called thus number 416-824-2352 , which raised the red flag and I knew this is a scam.

We got the same letter and decided it was too good to be true.  I googled it and found all of you who had the same idea.  Too bad!  Could have really used the extra money!  Ours had Capital One on the envelope.  Wonder if they know their name is being used?

I got the same check...too good to be true.  I decided to Google before given them a call and saw your message.  Thanks for the head up.

I did not receive a letter, I received a TEXT message on my phone. It stated that I had won $1.2 million dollars in a random drawing of phone numbers to promote the 2014 Powerball. The game is from the UK and they drew numbers from UK, Canada, and the US. I asked them to verify that it is legit. They told me I would have to come to the UK to see for myself. I was also told that the information had been publicised. I asked where, and was told on the internet. I told them that I had spoken 'to my attorney and that he was verifying the the information I had been given. I was told that I needed to send $450 to cover legalization and courier delivery costs. As of yet, I have not located any publications nor any information on the UK having a "POWERBALL" game.
The text message came from # 16464396658, Numbers given to me in the email are as follows.
+44 7024055640
+44 7024078730
(646)4396658) Text Only for our records purpose.

Someone had mentioned it being check fraud. Because these people are not in America, our laws do not pertain the them! International laws are very different from ours, and then there is also the problem of getting the governments in these other countries to cooperate with us in doing anything about these issues is a joke! That is why they target us, and why they are successful! Contact your local fraud unit and give them all of the information that you have. They will step in and contact the scammers, and you will never hear from them again.

Well, look forward to a lot of fees from the bank.

i deposited  the check anyway. i don't call these idiots. not my concerns. there is a check issued to me in my name. so, did nothing wrong. just deposited it. not like you kills someone. and i didn't steal it. it was given to me.  when the federal come to my house. i show them the lotto promotions winner letter.  they looked at it. they told me it's a  stolen  check.  then, they walked away.  i heard one of the federal agent said must be someone who work for these bank for them to have a way of issued these checks to peoples. yes, i do know it's fake but choose to deposit it.

I got the same exact letter from the same people with the same phone number.... I took it to chase bank and had it looked at and it's a pretty good fake...
Everything was good but the acct. number.. It's a SCAM!!!!