Kelowna

The latest version of a sweepstakes cheque scam has made it to the Okanagan.

In this latest scam, a letter notifies the recipient they have won a $75,000 cash prize in a lottery.

Included with the letter is a cheque for $3,700.

"To expedite the processing, enclosed is the cheque for $3,700 which has been deducted from your prize money. The purpose of this first cheque is to enable you to pay the applicable Insurance Cover on your big winnings."

The letter asks the recipient to pay $2,800 through Money Gram or Western Union. The money must be paid before the balance of the winnings can be released.

The cheque and letter both claim to be from the Carpenters Union Local 18 in Hamilton, Ontario. Both the address and postal codes are incorrect.

Union Administrator, Sherry Awde, says the scam has been making the rounds for a while now.

"It's been going on for about six months now. All they do is change the letter and change the address and it starts again," says Awde.

She says the scam isn't giving the union a bad name, however, Awde says its frustrating and time consuming with all the calls they have been receiving.

"I just hope enough people contact police so they can catch these people."

Stephen Garcia, a Kelowna resident who alerted Castanet about the scam, says he received it in the mail Friday morning.

Garcia says he contacted Phone Busters in Ontario and the Kelowna RCMP.

"They got my middle initial wrong so I knew right away it was a scam. You don't get anything for nothing," says Garcia.

He says the cheque is real and the letter looks very official.

"It's a real slick scam."

RCMP advise anyone who receives anything that looks suspicious, either in the mail or on the phone to ignore it and contact police.