To the editor:

The public needs to be made aware of a scam that is showing up in Lawrence mailboxes. Beware of a letter saying that you have won $100,000, accompanied by a $3,000 check that looks legitimate.

A friend of ours got one that had a header with AIG on it, and my husband called the phone number on the letter and quickly realized that it was a scam, as we had suspected. We then notified the authorities and found that if they had tried to cash the check and send it to the company for the payment of “taxes,” they would have been stealing. The company on the check was real and that company would have lost money.

When we phoned the scammers, they also told us they needed our friend’s bank account number so they could transfer the rest of the $100,000. What they really planned to do was wipe out their account. Today, I just received another one almost exactly the same, but this time, the header read Fairway Financial Services in Quebec, Canada. The other one was in Vancouver, Canada.

My husband, John, and I were so upset by the one our friends received because they are new immigrants from Cuba and are trying to get on their feet and could have easily had all their hard-earned money stolen. I am glad I had a chance to share this and hope it prevents someone being harmed.

Karen Armstrong,
Lawrence