Mailings sent to numerous homes purport to be from Publishers Clearing House, and include a check, which allegedly covers taxes, legal fees and administrative fees.

Instructions enclosed in the mailings tell the recipient to contact a claims manager for further instructions before depositing the check.

Publishers Clearing House is not sending the mailings, the MSP said. The check is fake, and the recipient wins nothing.

Troopers advise the public to toss the mailings and not respond.

Unsolicited mailings, phone calls or emails promising large monetary gifts, vehicles or other seemingly too-good-to-be-true prizes should be regarded skeptically, the MSP said. People should also be wary of calls regarding their Social Security number, unknown debt to the IRS, and some utility service contacts. The MSP asks residents not to provide personal information or to be pressured into making uninformed decisions.

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