CATLIN, Ill. (WCIA) — A woman opened a letter and found a check for more than $2,000 inside, but what she thought was a jackpot was actually part of a nationwide scam.
People in several states are getting letters and a check claiming to be from Dr. Pepper. The note offers to pay them to put advertising decals on their car. A couple in Central Illinois got one of these letters.
The bank name printed on the check is a real bank in Wyoming. They said, not only have people come into that bank to cash these checks, but they’ve been getting calls from people in other states asking if this is real. It includes a call from a woman in Catlin.
A strange and exciting letter arrived in Linda Willet’s mail box.
“I was all excited because I thought, ‘Oh gosh, a $2,000 check and it’s from Dr. Pepper.’ I said, ‘No wait, I’m not going to cash it yet.'”
Inside was a note with a simple offer. If you put Dr. Pepper advertisements on your car, they’ll pay you.
Attached to the letter was a check made out to her for $2,390.
“They’re just going to put this stuff on my car and pay me all this money?”
All you have to do is deposit the check and email them a copy of the deposit slip. The check looks real. It has her name on it and the name of a real bank in Wyoming. So she called them.
“She told me they’ve received thousands and thousands of calls on these checks from Dr. Pepper and she asked me for the check number.”
The bank says people have come in to cash these checks, only to be told they’re fake. If taken to any other bank, they would deposit it and give you the money. But when the check bounces, you will owe that money back. Plus the scammer will have all of the account information because you sent your deposit slip.
“They can wipe out my whole account. That would really put me in a bind trying to pay rent on this place.”
Fortunately, Willett didn’t fall for the scam. But her boyfriend might have if she wasn’t there. This all started when he got a text message asking him to advertise for the company.
Mark Cline says, “I put the information in for our address and then they sent her a letter. After we got the letter she took over as she usually does.”
This problem was solved for them. But for anybody else, watch out for a this text and don’t cash that check.
The bank says police in Wyoming told them there’s really no way to trace whoever is doing this. The name printed on the line saying who the check is from is not a member of their bank and they have no idea why this is happening.
Willett says she also called Dr. Pepper when she got the letter. The representative told her they don’t pay individual people to promote their product.