Local 10 News viewer nearly falls victim to sweepstakes scam

Woman mistakenly thinks she's won $1.5 million

It looks so exciting. The Publishers Clearing House prize patrol surprising a lucky winner at their front door. But scammers are piggy-backing on this well-known sweepstakes with convincing letters and accompanying checks.

"I said, 'Oh boy $8,000," Mary Cochran said laughing in her Tamarac living room. "That sounds nice."

Even consumers with a discerning eye like Cochran almost got roped into the scam.

"Oh, you even signed it," Local 10 News consumer advocate Christina Vazquez said looking at the check.

"I signed it, yeah," Cochran admitted.

"You were close," Vazquez said.

At first glance, Mary thought she won.

"It said I had won $1,500,000 and they were sending me a check," Cochran said.

"This looks pretty official," Vazquez said. 

"It does," Cochran replied.  

That's the ploy; looking legit while pretending to be a brand you know.

"I even took it over to the bank. I was close, but then I even thought I should talk to someone about it," Cochran said. 

Thankfully she "Called Christina," who called Publishers Clearing House, which confirmed that the check is fake and the scam is real. 

According to PCH, it's a scam sweeping the country. 

Click here for information about fraud protection from Publishers Clearing House Website.

In a fake check scam, the con artist will often ask you to deposit the money and then wire a portion back. That is a red flag.

Another trick is to ask you to wire back money to the fraudster.  Under federal law,  banks make the funds you deposit available quickly, but just because you can withdrawal the money doesn't mean the check is good.  By the time the check bounces, the scammer's got your cash and the bank may hold you responsible. You may have to cover any funds that were withdrawn on it and in essence pay twice for that mistake.

If someone contacts you claiming to be from PCH, telling you you've won a prize and  asks you to send a payment, or asking you to cash a check -- don't.

Take a closer look at that check.

It's not from Publishers Clearing House. The Call Christina team called City Lights, the company whose name the check was issued under.  They also confirmed the check is fraudulent. In a telephone conversation City Lights said their account information was stolen and has been reported it to police.

Now  take a closer look at the telephone number on the letter Cochran received. It isn't toll free as one might expect. A reverse lookup traces the number back to a private number in Ottawa, Canada not Publishers Clearing House.

If you think someone is trying to dupe you,  do what Cochran did, report it and help keep others in your community safe from fraud.

"South Florida is a hotbed for scams like this. I hope I can keep somebody else from falling for it," Cochran said.

Publishers Clearing House also said that it never notifies winners with a phone call or contacts winners via Facebook. All winners are notified in person.