By Valerie Dowdle and Anna-Louise Jackson
Medill Reports - Chicago

When Chicago Ridge resident Roy Knudson found a check for almost $3,000 in the mail, it was like money had fallen from the sky.

Shortly before the windfall, Knudson, 51, suffered a brain hemorrhage. The medical bills were adding up, and his mother, Joan, said the check came at the right time.

"We could've used [the money], no doubt about it," Joan, 71, said. "It seemed too good to be true."

But it landed with a string attached: The winnings were from Canada, so there would be customs fees.

The company instructed Knudson to cash the check, send the money back to cover the fees, and then he would receive another check in the same amount.

Joan was hesitant because she had heard of check scams.

After verifying the bank was legitimate, the Knudsons decided to cash the check. It worked, but soon it was back in their hands, this time with "counterfeit" stamped on it.

Luckily for the Knudsons, the check scam cost Roy only $20 in processing fees.

But for those who do take the bait, it can be a much more expensive lesson.

According to the attorney general's office, Illinois consumers lost $3,700 on average in 2006, with total losses of nearly $500,000.

That's why Wednesday the U.S. Postal Inspection Service launched the Consumer Fraud Awareness Campaign, a national effort to dry up the pool of potential victims with the power of education.

After 20 years at the Chicago Better Business Bureau, President Steve Bernas called this new breed of scams the most prolific he's ever seen. "Every week, [there] seems to be a new trick," he added.

Plus, with high-quality printers and the Internet at their fingertips, scammers produce counterfeit checks that are difficult for banks to detect. And they're getting better.

Part of the offensive is a massive advertising campaign that puts a face on the scam. Watch for a slew of print and TV commercials that portray the people behind the scams as goofy, pathetic hucksters full of hot air and dubious claims.

"It's easy to laugh about," said David Colen of the Chicago Division of the Postal Inspection Service. But he said people can - and do - fall for it.

"No one who wants to give you money should ask you to send them money in return," Colen said. He called that the most important lesson.

Also, scammers capitalize when consumers fail to realize how checks work, according to the National Consumer League. Like the Knudsons learned, having the cash doesn't mean you're in the clear: it can take months for a bank to verify the funds.

The Knudsons sent the fraudulent check to the attorney general's office, but they appear to be an anomaly.

The Federal Trade Commission found that 92 percent of victims never file a complaint. Not even the FTC is immune - in the past few weeks, they got two fake checks made out to "Fred Tradecom."

A 20-member alliance of government agencies, consumer groups and financial institutions is behind the effort. Chicago Postal Inspector Wanda Shipp said it is the largest coalition of its kind.

Although the problem is international, Shipp lamented that Americans make a fine target: "They're greedy and they're gullible," she said. "They want it fast and they want it free."