We received the following scam alert from our reader, Kara:

I received a letter and a check in the amount of $3977.65 advising that we were the winner of $57,000.00 USD, and to contact Justin Green at 514-569-5763 to claim the prize. When I tried the number it gave me the message that the mailbox could not hold any other messages. The check looks real. The letter is from Carn Financial in 3655 NW 87 Avenue Maimi, Florida 33178. Check is from Carnival (tel 450 751 0076) and is from Carnival Cruise Lines Inc.

This scam seems like a variation on our previous scam alert.  Both scams use a phone number from the (514) area code.  Both also seem to originate from Florida, so be on the lookout.

With these check scams becoming more and more popular, everyone needs to be sure to second-guess any suspicious postal checks like these. The scam involves you contacting them, and they then ask that you provide them with your bank account information so they can "wire" the rest of the funds. They attempt to make you feel comfortable with it by giving you a check (which is a fake).

If you receive one of these "checks", and want to make sure, simply take it to your bank and have them verify the check. Our guess is 10 times out of 10 it is going to be a fake. So watch out!