Scammers have long pretended to send e-mail from banks and commerce sites like eBay; now it seems that some have expanded to include at least one MSO.
Mediacom Communications is warning the public that someone has been running a scam that includes issuing checks that seem to be from Mediacom.
The fraud that Mediacom is warning about is a slightly more complicated version of the scam in which the target is supposed to send a sum of money to secure a larger sum of money to be paid subsequently. A common version is the Nigerian bank scam.
This version is a bit more involved. Letters are being sent claiming that recipients have won prizes in one of several lotteries; they enclose phony checks bearing Mediacom’s name purporting to pay for taxes on the prize.
The letters direct the recipients to call a claims agent, who will then advise the recipient to send payments for an amount less than that of the enclosed check via Western Union or comparable money order, Mediacom explained. Recipients are led to believe that they can pocket the difference between the enclosed Mediacom check and the Western Union payment, in addition to the promised prize money.
None of the letters, of course, were sent by Mediacom, which recommends destroying the letters and checks.
The company noted that the people sending the letters do not seem to have customer lists, inasmuch as the letters are being sent to the general public.