BEWARE OF SWEEPSTAKE FRAUD

How many times have you received a letter in the mail containing the famous phrase..."You`ve won a million dollars"? These letters are usually scam, and one local woman learned the hard way...she received a check for five thousand dollars, tried to cash it, and was in for a little surprise... Ashford Police Chief, Roane lawler says he recently received a phone call from Midsouth Bank regarding a resident who received a 5-thousand dollar cashiers check in the mail...she tried to cash it, however, she never received the money, because she had been scammed with a counterfiet check. The instructions she received with it, she was to keep one thousand, and mail the other four back to the city. Lawler says he spoke to the FBI to find out more information, and says the group sending the counterfeit cashier`s checks is out of Nigeria..and using the Missouri Bank known as "Bankstar" on the check. There is no phone number for the bank, the check is all typed, except the signture...it just doesn`t look authentic. He also spoke to a Bankstar representative, and they said the scam was not uncommon...in fact, they are receiving about fifteen phone calls every day. These things happen every day all over the world. Lawler says it`s important to remember the old saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."