When Paula Unbankes received a check in the mail for $4,950, Christmas spirit suddenly exploded on what had been an otherwise bleak holiday season for the 38-year-old Medford resident.

The letter, sent from Starluck Casinos, urged her to call immediately to claim a $75,000 prize and for details on cashing the initial check. Publishers Clearing House and Readers Digest were listed as official sponsors to whatever contest the mother of three had just won.

A part of her thought it was too good to be true. But when an Internet search revealed the bank listed on the check was a legitimate financial institution, issued by a real bank in Honolulu, Unbankes took the next logical step.

"I called the number on the letter and I asked the lady, 'Where's the non-negotiable part? What's the catch?' She said, 'No, there's no catch. Go to the bank. It's a totally legitimate check.' She said she'd tried calling me two times already."

Unbankes was the intended victim of a common scam in which the operators lure people into believing prize money exists, then persuade them to send "taxes" or "clearance fees" via wire — for instant processing — before receiving the money. Victims not only lose money in the transaction but are responsible for the counterfeit check cashed at the bank.

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"Seventy-five thousand dollars really changes people's lives," Unbankes said. "We're on housing assistance and I told her our situation. I got off the phone and thought, if that was a script, it was a damn good one a week before Christmas."

Unbankes has three sons ages 16-18, one with a child of his own. In 2002, she suffered bilateral pneumonia and spent nine days in a medically induced coma, she said.

Afterward, a life-threatening infection from untreated dental issues resulted in loss of her teeth, dentures that don't fit properly and difficulty finding a job to pay for a better set.

Unbankes persuaded her skeptical husband, a longtime Bear Creek employee, to visit the couple's bank, Wells Fargo on McAndrews Road, to question the check's validity.

"On the way to the bank, I just kept thinking this would be the break we needed. You can go to 100 job interviews but people look at you different when you don't have teeth," she said.

"I know they say money doesn't buy happiness, but I'll tell you one thing, it makes it a hell of lot easier to find it."

Some 45 minutes after presenting the check to the bank teller, Unbankes was abruptly returned to reality. Bank employees declined to comment on the matter, other than to verify that counterfeit checks are confiscated.

Several phone calls by the Mail Tribune to the bank noted on the check, American Savings Bank of Honolulu, yielded few results.

"We receive literally hundreds of these checks with our name on it," said an operator who declined to provide further details.

Beth Anne Steele, FBI field office spokeswoman in Portland, said Unbankes' experience is all too common. While Steele was unable to confirm whether the case involving Unbankes was being investigated, she said cases in which money is not exchanged are difficult to pursue.

"Sounds like the bank took the check before it actually tried to clear," Steele said. "When there's no loss of money, it's difficult for the government to prosecute.

"Check fraud like this is a huge problem. You really have to take everything with a grain of salt and be realistic. Nobody's going to send you free money and nobody's going to allow you to make thousands of dollars overnight unless it's totally a scam or there's an illegal nature to it."

The Federal Trade Commission Web site warns of falling for scams with phone numbers appearing to be located within the United States. (The phone number on the Starluck Casino letter had a 705 area code, based in Ontario, Canada). Mail and Web scams across international borders are the most difficult to investigate.

Refusing to feel sorry for herself, Unbankes figures she should look at the positive side of her recent near-fortune.

"I figure I got off good," she said.

"I lost a couple dreams and an hour of my life. Now I'm mainly worried some widow, or a vet, will fall for this. All it would've taken is for the teller to take the check and the bank told me I would've been responsible for that money. I guess I should be thankful I'm not in worse shape than I was when I got that check."

For tips to avoid becoming the victim of common scams, fraud or identity theft, visit online, www.fbi.gov/becrimesmart.htm.

Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at buffypollock@juno.com.