Check Scam Targets Monroe Woman
By: Brittney Johnson
Updated: September 1, 2009
Donna Taylor says she received a letter saying she'd won $ 40,000.
But before she got too excited she got a little suspicious.
Donna Taylor said, "I got a letter in a plain white envelope, I opened it, it said grant opportunities. It said I won $40,000 and enclosed was a check for $3600."
The letter said Taylor was being awarded a grant she didn't apply for. But to get her $40,000 grant, she was instructed to send the company $3,000.
"A new home down payment, it sounded really good, but the idea of sending money to receive money was a red flag," said Taylor.
Taylor says she called the bank, the grant company and the Better Business Bureau. It was scam. The kind Peggie Hatten says are getting harder for people to turn down during such hard economic times.
Peggie Hatten said, "You think if there's any possibility it is real, I need this money so bad. and they take advantage of that." Hatten says over a million of these bad checks are in circulation at any given time. Letters that come from out of the country with checks that look like they are from real banks.
The Better Business Bureau of Monroe gets five or six calls a day about fake checks. These are all letters from local people who have been targeted by scam artists. Taylor says she's fortunate she didn't fall for this scam and wants to make sure that no one else does.
Taylor said, "How bad times are, anyone that's in need of money to pay off bills, pay off loans. I wanted to bring this out, I wanted to reach those people."
Donna Taylor said, "I got a letter in a plain white envelope, I opened it, it said grant opportunities. It said I won $40,000 and enclosed was a check for $3600."
The letter said Taylor was being awarded a grant she didn't apply for. But to get her $40,000 grant, she was instructed to send the company $3,000.
"A new home down payment, it sounded really good, but the idea of sending money to receive money was a red flag," said Taylor.
Taylor says she called the bank, the grant company and the Better Business Bureau. It was scam. The kind Peggie Hatten says are getting harder for people to turn down during such hard economic times.
Peggie Hatten said, "You think if there's any possibility it is real, I need this money so bad. and they take advantage of that." Hatten says over a million of these bad checks are in circulation at any given time. Letters that come from out of the country with checks that look like they are from real banks.
The Better Business Bureau of Monroe gets five or six calls a day about fake checks. These are all letters from local people who have been targeted by scam artists. Taylor says she's fortunate she didn't fall for this scam and wants to make sure that no one else does.
Taylor said, "How bad times are, anyone that's in need of money to pay off bills, pay off loans. I wanted to bring this out, I wanted to reach those people."
