A while back, I got a "lottery check" in the mail... I went to the Penna State Police about it, and presented them with a nice option... I would open another bank account in my name, give them the numbers for it, and when funds were removed from the account, they could trace it openly, without having to petition the bank and get a warrant, since the "account holder" gave them permission.
As it went, through about 30 bank withdrawals and a few random deposits, the Penna State Police had seized about $30,000 in funds across several accounts. I never saw the story advertised, but those particular scammers were local, and were jailed for X number of years, as I was told.
The next time I got one, I offered the same deal (as a public service, no money to myself.) and was turned down, due to "legality"... apparently, it's illegal for me to deposit that check knowing that it's a scam check, and that can't be overlooked, even though it's "for the better good".
Now I report every scam email to the FBI's net-crime bureau, and forward scam letters to the FBI's main office in DC.
They stopped sending "thank-you" letters about 3 years ago..
