Nationwide Cautions Public About 10-State Scam

Nationwide Insurance is cautioning people in at least 10 states that a series of counterfeit checks have been mailed to people, claiming to be advanced fees for a larger contest prize administered by the company.

But according to Nationwide, the $4,500 checks -- which appear to originate from Nationwide -- are bogus, part of a scam designed to steal from their recipients. The involved states are Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Utah, New York, Iowa, California, Michigan, Tennessee and possibly Arkansas, according to Nationwide spokeswoman Liz Christopher. The company has been specifically working with the Ohio Department of Insurance to get word out.

The Ohio agency issued a public warning, detailing the alleged scam. A letter instructs the recipient that, in order to collect $150,000 in winnings from a "consumer promotion draw," they have to send funds from the enclosed $4,500 check to cover a foreign tax. When the recipients deposit the checks and wire the money to a United Kingdom address, the check will eventually be discovered as counterfeit, and the depositor would have to cover the loss.

But so far, Christopher said, "no one has cashed any of these checks. We were very happy about that."

As many as 25 of the letters have been reported at this point, she said, beginning around Aug. 13.

The Ohio insurance office advised people to beware of contests that request money be sent, and if correspondence is received from a well-known company -- like Nationwide -- contact the company to ensure it's legitimate. The public notice asked recipients of similar fraudulent contest letters to contact the insurance fraud division of the department.

Christopher said her company and the Ohio department intend to meet with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service on the interstate scam.