FRAUD ALERT! Contest Winner Notification Scam

There is a type of fraud occurring that we would like to make our members aware of. Letters and fraudulent checks are being sent to people that appear to be an official notification that the recipient has won a contest or sweepstakes, like Publisher’s Clearing House. The letter includes a fake check to cover “out of pocket” expenses like taxes, insurance or processing.

Letters like this are a scam. The purpose is to get the recipient to deposit the check into their account, withdraw the funds before the check is returned unpaid as a fraudulent item and then send back some or all of the money to the scammer.

View an example of the Publisher’s Clearing House scam letter.

Never respond to letters of this type. Legitimate contests or sweepstakes do not ask you to send money to claim your prize.

MCU will never contact you by email, text message or phone call to notify you of account related issues or to ask you to update or verify your account information. If you think your MCU accounts have been compromised, report it by calling the Contact Center at 212-693-4900.