BANGOR – Many people have received a fake check in the mail with a letter saying they have won a foreign lottery or sweepstakes and all they need to do is deposit the funds, which are only a portion of the winnings, and wire money to cover the taxes in order to get the rest.

Or perhaps a long-lost relative has died and left all their money to the person, and all that is needed to release the inheritance is a small lawyer’s fee.

“They’re all scams,” U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Desrosiers said Monday at a press conference to announce the kickoff of National Consumer Protection Week, March 2-8.

He added later: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

The postal inspector, the attorney general and representatives of the Bangor post office, Bangor Savings Bank, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office were on hand to help warn people not to fall for fake check scams.

“These are often clever and sophisticated,” Todd Lowell, assistant U.S. attorney.

And since it can sometimes take up to three weeks for fake checks or money orders, especially if they are from other countries, to be determined to be counterfeit, people cannot rely entirely on banks or other financial institutions for protection, Desrosiers said. If a check is deemed counterfeit, the responsibility lies with the account holder.

“The most effective measure to combat fake check scams is to increase consumer awareness,” he said, adding that the number of scams has jumped significantly since 2004.

“The best security is your skepticism,” Lowell said.

The Postal Inspection Service has created a Web site, www.fakechecks.org, to help those who have questions about possible scams.

Hundreds of fake check scams cross Desrosiers’ desk annually, and people need to be aware that common sense is the best defense against being taken by a con artist.

“Postmasters, law enforcement, and just regular citizens send me fake checks on a regular basis,” he said after the gathering. Fake check con artists “are relentless” and “cost Americans over $20 billion each year.”

The complaints that Desrosiers receives are forwarded to the Washington national headquarters because most are considered international fraud.

The scammers send out thousands of solicitation letters and “it only takes a couple” to make it profitable for them, he said.

nricker@bangordailynews.net

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