PMG Jack Potter has announced a consumer-awareness campaign to educate the American public about fraudulent checks sent through the mail. Potter announced the campaign yesterday at a Washington, DC, news conference.

Investigators led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service have arrested 77 people as part of a global fraud crackdown that has intercepted more than $2.1 billion in counterfeit checks bound for the United States. The eight-month investigation involved schemes in Nigeria, the Netherlands, England and Canada, and has prevented more than half a million fake checks from being mailed to American victims.

“All fake check scams have a common pattern,” Potter said. “Scammers contact victims online or through the mail and send them checks or money orders. Then they ask that some portion of the money be wired back to them.”

Potter added the best thing our citizens can do to protect themselves is learn how to avoid these scams. “The old adage still holds true,” he said. “If someone offers you a deal that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Alice Fisher applauded the Inspection Service for its leadership in the global fight against fake checks. “Thanks to the efforts of the Postal Inspection Service and our international partners, we are able to arrest scam artists who operate overseas and bring them to justice,” Fisher said.

The awareness campaign has launched a series of television, print and online advertisements that feature a tagline telling consumers, “Scams like these don’t work as well in person. That’s why they’re done online.”

Go to fakechecks.org to learn more.