ON YOUR SIDE CONSUMER ALERT: Brundidge Police Chief Warns of Prize Scam
ON YOUR SIDE CONSUMER ALERT – Brundidge Police Chief Sam Green is sending a warning to people of Pike County about a scam involving a fake prize check.
Brundidge police say a woman told them she had received a check through the mail from Publisher’s Clearing House. The amount of the check was more than $6,000. Police say she was wary of the check because she had not submitted anything to Publisher’s Clearing House, and she turned the check over to them.
Green and investigators contacted Troy Bank and Trust to verify the check, and say they were told the check was fake.
Troy Bank and Trust President Jeff Kervin says scammers send out these checks to people they have obtained their information from, from different sources that sell information. The person will deposit the check, the check processes, and a few days later the banks discover that it was a fake check. That makes the person responsible for the amount that was cashed or deposited.
Kervin says these checks look real and pass the eye test to someone who is not familiar with them. Sometimes the checks will have two different bank names, and this should be a red flag.
Chief Green and Troy Bank officials urge you to be vigilant, especially if you have not submitted any kind of information, and have the checks checked by bank officials before cashing or depositing a check you suspect is fake.
