WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Beware of the "Goodwill Scam"
Member Center:
New day, new check scam.
Scam artists have figured out another way to gain your trust and trick you into cashing their fake checks.
It's called the Goodwill Scam.
Most people know Goodwill as the company who helps the needy.
Now, thieves are hoping the Goodwill name will help them.
They are sending out letters and checks, using Goodwill's logo, claiming you won a sweepstakes. In reality, you didn't win anything.
It's all bogus.
"I never dreamed we would be a vehicle for anything such as this," Goodwill CEO Bill Oakley told WTOC. "Because the name "Goodwill" is so well recognized, people presume some legitimacy."
Two weeks ago, Oakley found out someone had sent out letters to people all over the country claiming they had won a 125,000 dollar lottery "sponsored" by Goodwill. Included was a check for 3500 dollars. All the person has to do is cash the check, and send money to Barcelona, Spain.
"Some have tried and have successfully negotiated a bank only to discover the check was improper," Oakley said." Goodwill is not involved nationally or locally in any sort of lotto effort and would not be sending money or checks indicating winnings to any state, and certainly not in Georgia."
"We've seen some involving Red Cross, we've seen some involving the BBB, and now they're involving Goodwill," Better Business Bureau president Ross Howard told WTOC.
Howard says this is a new trick used by scammers to suck in unsuspecting victims.
"The con artist knows by using a company with a highly respected name, people are going to trust it. That's why the goodwill scam is going to take a lot of people by surprise," he said.
"We are certainly not going to be sending unsolicited checks to anyone, anywhere, for any purpose," Oakley said.
The Goodwill Scam has opened up Oakley's eyes, and he's banking on other people catching on to the scam before it's too late.
"We are all potentially vulnerable and potential victims and need to double our effort to safeguard our personal information," Oakley said.
WTOC is helping double the effort. Along with the BBB, we are holding the first ever Fake Check Shred-a-thon. Do you have a fake check you got in the mail?
Bring them down to the Oglethorpe Mall on Wednesday May 23rd. We will be there along with the BBB and local bank experts to tell you if your check is a fake, and then shred them in a big shredder. We will have more on the fake check shred-a-thon over the next week and a half.
Reported by: Don Logana, dlogana@wtoc.com
