We received the following consumer scam alert from reader Justina:

We received a letter and a check in the amount of $4797.47 advising that we were the winner of $57,000.00 USD, and to contact Yolanda Fisher at 514-576-4312 to claim the prize. Yolanda advised to deposit the check and that the remainder will be wired transfer to the account. I have shown the check to the bank and they confirmed it was a scam. The check looks real letter is from Star Financial in 100 SW 75th Street Gainesville, Florida 32607. Check is from Oneonta Daily Star (tel 450 751 0076) and is from JP Morgan Chase Wilmington DE.

Justina did the right thing by asking her bank about the check before doing anything. In this case, the scammer is attempting to lure you into thinking it is okay to give out your bank account information since you already have this check for $4797.47 in your hands.

The truth of the matter is that the check is bad, and if you were to give out your bank account information, the scammer would then use it to wire money directly out of your account into theirs.

Thanks for the warning Justina!