Macmillan wants you to be aware of at least two scams, apparently originating in Canada, that use fraudulent copies of our checks.

In one of the scams, you receive a letter, appearing to be from a Canadian company named “Atlantic Worldwide Sweepstakes and Lotteries”, claiming you won a $250,000 prize. Included with the letter is a fraudulent $3,860 check with a Macmillan name and address. The check is fraudulent and will not be honored by our bank. If you deposit this check into your bank, you will not be paid. Rather you will probably be charged a fee by your bank.

In the second scam, you receive a letter, appearing to be from a Canadian Company named “Consumer Media Agency”, stating that you were chosen as a Secret Shopper. Included with the letter is a fraudulent $3,860 check with a Macmillan name and address. The check is fraudulent and will not be honored by our bank. If you deposit this check into your bank, you will not be paid. Rather you will probably be charged a
fee by your bank.

The scammers may also be running other scams similar to these and using other company names. We have no way of knowing whether the companies whose names appear on the letters are just company names made up by the scammers or legitimate companies whose letterhead was stolen by the scammers.

Macmillan does not issue unsolicited checks. We only send checks to our employees, authors and vendors. If you receive an unsolicited check with the Macmillan name it is most likely fraudulent. We have already contacted law enforcement authorities. We have also contacted our banks who are closely watching the checks presented for payment.

Vendors and Authors with questions should contact Macmillan.