Check Scam Testimony

One day, Julia Melton received a letter in the mail informing her that she had won a sweepstakes. She thought it was real, because included in the letter was an advance payment to help her pay the fees and the taxes on the money.

Julia says, “I think I kind of got caught up in the hope of it all. Like, wow, here’s a break! Who couldn’t use $165,000 in this day and age?”

She was told in the letter to deposit the check into her banking account, and in a couple of days, she could withdraw the amount she needed to send to cover the fees and taxes.

Then, she was contacted on the phone, asking for more money. The man said, “Well, the check is deposited, so you go back in a day or two now so you can send me the money.” He promised Julia that her sweepstakes prize would come to her in 48 hours.

So, Julia wired over $3,000 to Canada. Then, two days later, she found out check the sweepstakes sent her had bounced, and that her account was overdrawn thousands of dollars.

Julia says, “When it came crashing down, I felt so stupid. I just wanted to go to bed and never come out of bed again. I almost went into a deep depression. That’s where I’m at now, trying to figure out how I’m going to clean this up, you know, and still live.”

Julia shared her story as part of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s effort to warn people about fake check scams. Their goal – to help people keep from being swindled. To give them some discernment.