One percent of three million is a lot of people. Nothing wrong with continually getting this info out there.

These things arrive regularly in the "snail mail" and "E-mail" they are tossed or deleted by 99% of the population. When one person believes it, why is that news?

Really the only conclusion we ALL can come to out of this scenerio is....at least this woman is wise to these scams now, and everyone else who read this article that may not have been previously. So, the power of knowledge has prevailed, and has out - witted the power of ignorance.

This s a very common scam. It doesn't just apply to checks sent through the mail. I've gotten solicitations for these while selling horses.
It works like this: The scammers send the mark a check. It is a check for a legitimate bank often in an offshore operation or overseas. However, the account the check is drawn on is closed or only has a couple cents in it. The victim cashes the check (here is the transition from check to cash) and is instructed to WIRE the money to the scammer. (In the above story,the "processing fees". A few days later, he check fails to clear and the money service comes after the victim for the money, which has been wired to the scammer and is long gone.
It often happens to people selling goods over internet. The check they send is several thousand over what you are asking for the goods- you are to keep the purchase price and wire them the extra. The checks appear legit and will usually clear a bank.
Whenever I've posted horses for sale on the internet, I get a bunch of people looking to buy the horses in this manner. They even give you a website of the company that will "ship your pet." They all have the same MO- they want your animal noquestions asked, they all have a good home, and they never actually ask for pedigree or show records.
And of course, they see nothing funny about shipping a $5000 horse to Nigeria for $25,000.

I have gotten checks from car dealers for $2000 with the disclaimer non-negotiable in small print. They represent a discount on an inflated price for an automobile. I have gotten checks from legitimate businesses for $20 that are negotiable, but commit you to a product purchase or service when you cash them. I have gotten email offers to serve as a middle man to cash checks for overseas companies, payment for services, or distribution to charities. There are so many check-related scams out there, illegal and barely legal. Some companies use a partially visible check design to get you to open their junk mail. Remember that if it seems too good to be true, it probably isn't and there is no such thing as a free lunch. And that there are not huge accounts in foreign banks that just need someone to claim them. If you have doubts about any check from anyone, hold on to the money until you have checked with the bank to make sure it has cleared. Never cash a check for anyone and send them the money unless you are willing to pay back the bank if it is no good.

Nice Job Gazette in demonstrating its vested interest in perpetuating a victim mentality! It is this type of "reporting" that paying subscribers are tired of. There is no story here. The fact that Ms. Wilson is on disability tugs at ones heart strings (and I hope she is getting the help she needs), however; this fact alone is not germaine to the topic of consumer fraud-which I think is what this story is about.

Must be a very very slow news day.

JCK Nice.
Two good movies on scams are The Spanish Prisoner and House of Games. Hedberg might have them.
The Spanish Prisoner scam and the scam in the Gazette story and the scam you talked about are all variations on each other.

Every once in a while the tables get turned.

I have an internet acquaintance that actually scammed a scammer. It's a long and hilarious story but the gist is that he was suppose to help the scammer get gold out of Nigeria and turn it into cash. He set up a bogus website which convinced the scammer he was a legit businessman. They exchanged a bunch of bogus legal documents in which he was represented by Jeffery Dalmer. Then, before he would come to Nigeria to close the deal, he persuaded the scammer to forward a sample of the gold which was mailed to another acquaintance who is a chemist at a major midwestern university. That individual melted it down, purified it and it ended up being worth about $100. The scammer was stunned when he failed to show up at the airport in Nigeria to consumate the deal.

We are all acquainted through a website and every year several of us gather in Green Bay for a party. We used the money to buy beer and food for the party.

The exchanges between the two took place over several months and to this day is one of the funniest things I've ever seen on the internet. It was hard to believe that a scammer would be so stupid as to believe that his business sold Yak products, his girlfriend was Eva Braun, he vacationed at the spas of Southern Indiana and he had been on safari in the cornfields of Iowa where lions had attacked and mauled two of his companions. But he did, hook, line and sinker. We named him Dr KaFool.

Especially when she was smart enough not to be taken in by the scam.

I received one of these last summer. I am not on disability nor a sucker. I am educated and work a 40hr+ workweek. This could happen to anyone. I didn't fall for it but the thought of winning and holding the check in your hand makes you think about winning for a minute. Especially if you have run across hard times. So why do people have to criticize and call her names. That is not fair.
I personally believe that these scammers get names off the internet somehow. Maybe they buy mailing lists?????? Or they could be hackers??? There are a million possibilities....

I heard about that Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar.

He's a mean motor scooter!

Dear sir,
Private and Confidential. It is with heart of hope that I write to seek your help in the context below. I am Deji Abiola, the first son of the late Mko Abiola, A political philantropist and the alleged winner of the June 12 1993 Presidential election, Who died in custody of the Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar the former military president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I know you will be surprise on how i got your contact, but it was after a careful search in my late father achives that i saw your contact, in which my father identified you as "an idiot". I have no doubt on your good will and limited intellect to assist me in receiving into your custody (For Safety) the sum of Forty Eight Million, Five hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$48.5M) willed and deposited in my favour by my Late father.
Please, all contacts must be made through my Lawyer Barrister MUSTAPH JUBRILL of MUSTAPH & Associates (perhaps you have seen their commercials on NBC -- Nigerian Broadcast Company -- TV?). I look forward to your quick response. May Allah bless your dumb ass!
Regards and Merry Kwanzaa,
Mr.Deji Abiola

The woman in the story was NOT taken by the scam.

WAKE UP WHY WOULD ANYONE THINK THIS WOULD BE GOOD.ITS BEEN ALL OVER THE NEWS& INTERNET&TV. FOR YEARS. FOR ANYONE WHO WOULD GET THERE HOPES UP YOU R A SUCKER

just about everyday in my email i am winning the lottery from some foreign country. usually its from the uk. anytime they want you to send a processing fee you know its a scam. WAKE UP PEOPLE

just about every day i am winning the lottery form the UK or some other foreign country. anytime they want you to send them money for a processing fee you know its a scam. WAKE UP PEOPLE

JCK, true, that ultimately the story does not claim she actually lost any money, I got the correct impression from the story before I read any of the posts and before leaving my post but still found it puzzling.

Newspaper stories should be written with this in mind: they are read quickly. The headlline (which may not have been the creation of the writer) was a misleading cue to the story. The quotes around the word "winning" would have been just as appropriate had Kelly been swindled.

Further, this paragraph is puzzling:

"The letter instructed Wilson to call Richard Wentworth, the company’s North American agent, to receive her prize by Friday. The check was to cover the processing costs of claiming the prize, the letter stated."

What check is being referred to in this paragraph? Given the nature of the scam, it would seem that it would refer to a check that Kelly was supposed to send to the crooks. (The story never stated that she was supposed to send a check.) If the check referred to is the check that they sent her, what is the purpose of that check?

I never heard of this scam involving the crooks sending a check to the victim for the same amount that they were trying to swindle her out of. If she was supposed to be responsible for this amount, the check she received has no purpose. She was suppose to be responsible for this amount -processing fees or whatever.

The reference to the Bahama check is no help.

That the officer tells her to destroy "the check" suggests that the scam didn't succeed but it would be have been more clear for the fast readed that "Kelly wisely didn't send a check."

Gazettefan,
The story states "A Janesville police officer told her to destroy the check." Additionally there's not one word in the story that suggests she sent them one. Those factors gave me the impression that she didn't. I guess it's a matter of how you interpet what you read.

Yes, she was smart not to deposit the check and forward one of her own to them. Not only did she avoid having to repay the bank $3000 but she saved the money they would have charged her in fees. My B-I-L wasn't as lucky. He fell for a similar scam and then the bank took him for another $200 in fees.

Why do you hear about these stories being about people on disability? I'll tell you why.
They are the people who care enough to say something. They dont take clothes or a meal for granted like others out there. Youd be surprised if you actually visited with some people with disabilities. Youd find out what amazing people they are compared to what label society gives them. They may not be able to physically do everything but emotionally they make up for it. Theyd give you everything they have even if it was the last thing they have got.
Since when did you people start having a lack of empathy for people in your community?!

These stories do seem to involve old people and people on disability, probably because financial need nudges them toward victimhood.

And maybe the culprits have info on these demographics.

Members of these demographics also fall victim to this scam when they are new to the internet. This scam is commonplace online by way of email.

And/or more well-off people naturally see this scam for what it is.

I know this woman personally and she is NOT SOME SUCKER. She has her own income and has gone through some rough times with people scamming her including identity theft, which millions go through every year! And dont tell me you wouldnt take free money on a platter. How many Americans in the US are IN DEBT that would love to win the lottery or be told they won something?! Im sorry not everyone is bright in this world. Thats why when bright people like Mrs. Wilson bring it to light for others you should be commending her for warning people instead of calling her a "sucker". Shes a good person and I'm thankful for people like her that help others out.
We should all be so thoughtful!

Why do these stories always involve people on "disability"?

Yes, JCK, on the clarification, the story is odd in that it doesn't specically say that she sent a check but at the same time that very impression is given.

I hate to be cynical about this, but it is well known about con games that the success of the con much of time depends on the greed of the victim.

She was smart not to send the check.

Read the story EB. She didn't cash the check and send them any money so she wasn't a sucker born in a minute or otherwise. She's just upset, as she should be, that someone would try to scam her. We're fortunate that she's shared her story with the media because it serves as a warning to others who may fall for this scam or one of the many like it.

EB, do you know this woman? Or her circumstances? I presume that you don't. You are certainly allowed to have your own opinion about anything you want to have an opinion about, but if you can't say something nice, keep your opinion to yourself.

These things prey on the people that have little hope, giving them false hope to brighten their lives.
Since we have the Publishers' Clearing House, folks think that 'it could happen to them'. I see it all the time.
I received a check just like this and turned it into the bank to let them know they may see more like it.

Casinos and the lottery are built on the idea of "money for nothing". It's easy to say that people are dumb for falling for a scam, especially one that has been around for a while. But if you never heard of the scam before, it's not so easy to avoid. Some people tend to be more trusting than others. Very often, that is viewed as a virtue, although it is an easy charicteristic to exploit by those who think of people as marks to be played.

people are horrible, why would anybody do this to somebody!!! what a bunch of crap!!

Wake up people! There is no such thing as free anything! It is JUNKMAIL and that is it!

There are a lot of scams out there! I also received a similar check and turned it into the police department. They had received several of these.

O.K. .... sad but true .. You don't get money for nothing . There is no such thing as free money ! I can't believe that anyone would fall for this whole scam !

Unfortunately, there are a lot of scams like this one going around. I am not surprised that Wentworth was unreachable. Thanks for sharing the website, it will be helpful for all.