Mail scam hits Flathead Valley residents

The Daily Inter Lake

Some Flathead County residents have become the targets of a scam designed to obtain person financial information.

The people behind the scam, who pose as representatives from direct-marketing and sweepstakes company Publishers Clearing House, send out letters telling the recipients they have won hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes.

Included in the mailing is a smaller check to cover "processing fees," but which can only be deposited after calling a number in the letter and providing personal information.

The remainder of the "prize" is promised at a later date.

The check sent in at least one of the letters was written against a closed California bank account. In another, the paper check was voided and payment was promised after providing personal bank information.

The scam letters, which are postmarked from Canada, have been received in states as far away as Pennsylvania.