Is this e-mail claiming I won $800,000 a scam?

By Kirk Mason (mason@wsbt.com)

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Is this e-mail claiming I won $800,000 a scam?

(WSBT photo)

By WSBT News1

Story Created: Sep 16, 2009 at 1:20 PM EST

Story Updated: Sep 16, 2009 at 5:07 PM EST

It can happen over the phone, through the mail, or through e-mail ― tough times make people more likely to fall for a "too good to be true" scam.

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A viewer has a Good Question: She received an e-mail claiming she would win $800,000 if she made $175 available from her bank account.
She asks if there is anything else she should do. The answer is to not do anything — it's a scam.

Another viewer recently dropped off a check at WSBT Stations that claimed to be worth $1.4 million.

The viewer was asked to pay $20 by cash, check or money order in order to claim the prize. Both police and the Better Business Bureau say the same thing ― you should never have to pay money to win money. That means it is a scam.

Viewers regularly show us checks and e-mails with offers that are too good to be true. Late last year we were shown a check that claimed to be from JPMorgan Chase & Co. for almost $5,000. It was not really a Chase check.

Police say the problem is during tough times like we are now living in, these fake checks can seem like an answer to a prayer. Sometimes people even wire money, hoping for treasure in return.

Instead of winning money, they wind up losing it.

Again you never should have to pay money to win money. But if you are still not convinced, show one of these checks to police, or even a bank.

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