Woman uncovers check scam after finding errors in congratulatory letter

A call to the "prize director" in Nova Scotia began with kindness and a congratulatory "You're a winner, sir."

At first.

But when informed that the caller -- a Southeast Missourian reporter -- knew the check was a bogus one and that the check's recipient had alerted authorities, the conversation went south quickly and ended with the so-called prize director spewing a profanity and hanging up.

So it turns out it's a good thing that Carrie Clardy of Jonesboro, Ill., who received the $2,935 check and "certificate of award" last week, never called the number.

This is just the latest check scam that occurs on a routine basis in Cape Girardeau and across the country, according to law enforcement and banking officials.

Clardy received the check, which looked "sort of official," she said, but she noticed some misspellings on the certificate of award, which fell under the letterhead "Swiss Lotto."

She called her bank, Montgomery Bank, which told her to contact the bank on the check, Bank of America. The check included a logo that was not the same as the official Bank of America logo.

"I knew something was wrong," she said. "It just didn't feel right."

The letter claimed that Clardy had won $86,000 and that the check was to pay for a "tax and clearance fee." The amount of the fee should be sent to a "designated North American agent" and the remainder of the $86,000 would then be sent to Clardy, minus a $6,000 sponsor's commission.

"I've won contests before and I'd never heard of fees," Clardy said. "And then when I saw the letter: Sentences ran together. There was no capitalization or periods. I figured it was bogus."

Bank of America checked the account number and told Clardy the account didn't exist and that it was indeed a phony check. She plans to take the check and the letter to Bank of America's Cape Girardeau office, which intends to look into the matter, Clardy said.

Terry Tuschhoff of the Bank of America office in Jackson wasn't familiar with this particular scam, but it said it sounded familiar.

"It's just one of the scams that goes on a regular basis," he said. "Each one has its own theme. They've won the lottery and a check comes out of nowhere. They've won a sweepstakes they don't remember entering."

The catch is that money is needed from the check recipient to process the paperwork before they can send the remainder of the winnings, he said.

"People usually catch on pretty quick that something's not right," he said.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said it's a crime "if somebody is stupid enough to cash the check. Then you'd have a victim."

Swingle said he routinely refers such cases to the federal prosecutor's office. And it's not just by mailed checks.

"Every day, people get e-mails saying that if they send a smaller amount of money, they'll get a larger amount," he said.

But these scams are hard to investigate, he said. They're generally being perpetrated by someone outside the United States.

"But the bottom line is if people are victimized, they're victimized by greed," he said. "They know they shouldn't have gotten the money, but they try to pull one over. The good general rule of thumb is: If it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137