Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CLEARFIELD -- It's a variation on an old con: A letter comes in the mail saying you've won some money. But when a couple tried to cash one such check, they not only found that they had been fooled, but that they could also face jail time.
"We were so excited and happy. It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, $4,000 in a check,'" said Claudia Hammons, a victim of the scam. "It was an exciting letter."
It said that Claudia had won $60,000 through the Publisher's Clearing House. All they needed to do to claim their prize was cash a smaller, $4,000 check to cover taxes, plus a little more.
So Claudia and her husband, Joshua Hammons, went to a nearby check cashing business, where after about 15 minutes they were greeted with some bad news. Police said the check was fake.
In addition, "They said, 'There's another problem. Your wife's potentially gonna be charged with fraud, which is a felony,'" Joshua said.
Claudia is in the process of applying for citizenship, and though she has an American husband and kids, she was worried a felony on her record could hurt her chances.
"I was in shock, because I never was thinking to do something bad," she said
Police say the people cashing these fraudulent checks are often unsuspecting victims, but that, "We also have people that are out there, who they know these are scams… and they're taking the money to check cashing places, trying to cash the checks and pocket the money," according to Sgt. Kyle Jeffries.
The Hammons' were eventually let off the hook and the charges dropped, but Claudia said they learned an important lesson about not necessarily believing in something that looks "too nice."
Clearfield Police say there are currently two of these scams showing up in the mail: the Publisher's Clearing House con that the Hammons received and another offering payment for agreeing to become a secret shopper. They say if you're asked to send money back to the person sending you a check, that should be a big red flag.
------
Story written by Mike Anderson with contributions from David Self Newlin.
